
Glass _il*:n[:ii^ 
Book 






PROCEEDINGS 



GENERAL COURT MAPiTIAL, 



FOR THE TRIAL OF 



MAJ. GEN. FITZ JOHN PORTER, U. S. VOLS. 



CITY OF WASHINGTON: 

1862. 



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Proceedings of a General Court Martial, which con- 
vened at the City of Washi7igton, in the District of 
Columbia, by virtue of the following Special Order : 

Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office, 

Washington, November 25, 1862. 
Special Orders, No. 362. 

[Extract.] 
3. The Military Comraission ordered to assemble on the 20th instant, 
by Special Orders, No. 350, November l7th, 1862, from Headquarters of 
the Army, is hereby dissolved, and a general Court Martial is hereby 
appointed, to meet in this city, on the 27th iustant, or as soon thereafter 
as practicable, for the trial of Major-General Fitz John Porter, U. S. 
Volunteers. 

Detail for the Court, 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers, 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Rufus King, " 

« B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

« Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

N. B. Bnford, " 

Brevet Brigadier General W. W. Morris, U. S. Array. 
Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General U. S. Army, Judge Advocate 
and Recorder of the Court. 

No other officers than those named can be assembled without manifest 
injury to the service. 

By command of 

Major General Halleck. 

(Signed) E. D. TOWNSEND, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 



Washington, D. C, 

November 27, 1862. 

The Court met at 11 a. m., pursuant to the foregoing order. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter. U. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock « ^ 

Brigadier General B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 



Absent : 

Brigadier General Rnfus King U. S. Volunteers, 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

Brig. Gen. N. B. Bulbrd, " 

Brev. Brig. Gen. W. W. Morris, U. S. Army. 
The Judge Advocate read the foregoing order, and stated that, owing 
to the absence of several members of the Court, he would present nothing 
for its consideration to-day. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 

November 28,1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter , . .U. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. "Garfield, " 

« N. B. Buford, " 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

Absent : 

Brig. Gen. Rufus King, TJ. S. Volunteers. 

Brev. Brig. Gen. W. W. Morris, TJ. S. Army. 
The minutes of the preceding session were read and approved. 
The Judge Advocate read the following special order : 

Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office, 

Washington, November 26, 1862. 

Special Orders, No. 364. 

[Extract.] 

5. Brigadier General J. P. Slough, U. S. Vols., is hereby detailed a 
member of the General Court Martial, ordered to assemble on the 27th 
instant, by special order 362, Nov. 26ih, 1862, from the Headquarters of 
the Army, or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the trial of Major 
General Fitz John Porter, U. S. Vols., and Brevet Brigadier General W. 
W. Morris, U. S. A., is hereby relieved from the operation of said order. 
By Conunand of 

Major General Halleck. 

(Signed) E. D. TOWNSEND, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 

The Judge Advocate stated that he was not ready to present anything 
for the consideration of the Court, and probably would not be until Eon- 
day next. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned until 11 a. m. on Monday next. 



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* WASHINaTON, D. C, 

December 1, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casejs " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

« N. B. Buford, " 

" J. P. Slough, " 

Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

•Absent : 
Brigadier General Rufus King, U. S. Vols. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The Judge Advocate stated to the Court that a copy of the charges 
had been furnished to Major General Porter only this morning, and sug- 
gested that the Court adjourn, in order to aftbrd General Porter an oppor- 
tunity of considering those charges before being called upon to plead 
thereto. 

By direction of the President of the Court inquiry was made of Gen. 
Porter whether he desired time to examine the charges against him. 

Gen. Porter replied that he had just received a copy of the charges 
against him ; and in order to examine them, and to decide upon what 
witnesses he should want to be called, he would desire to have until 
Thursday morning next, at which time he hoped to be able to hand in a 
list of witnesses. 

Gen. King being still absent. 

The Judge Advocate was reijuested to inform the authority by which 
this Court has been ordered, of that fact, and to respectfully ask whether 
any further order is required to enable the Court to proceed to business. 

The room was cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 
■closed doors. 

After some time the doors were re-opened. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 a, m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 

December 2, 1862. 



The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 
Brigadier General B. M. Prentiss. " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

« Silas Casey, 

« N. B. Buford, « 

" J. P. Slough, " 

Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 



Absent : 

Brigadier General Rnfus King U. S. Volunteers. 

" James A. Garfield, 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The Judge Advocate stated to the Court that, in pursuance of the in- 
structions of the Court yesterday, he had consulted the Geueral-in-Chief, 
by vphom this Court Martial was ordered, and his reply was that he did 
not consider any further order necessary to enable this Court to proceed 
to business, but that Gen, King was expected by every arrival, and if he 
did not reach here very soon, his place would be supplied. It seemed to 
be the desire of the General-in-Chief that the Court should be full. 

The President of the Court stated that he had received a letter from 
Gen. King, who wrote that he had seen in the newspapers that he was 
upon this Court, but as he had received no 'official notification to that 
effect he did not feel himself authorized to leave his command. 

The Judge Advocate said that he had been assured, at the Adjutant 
General's office that notice had been immediately sent to Gen. King, of 
his appointment. Gen, King would also be telegraphed to-day. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 1 1 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, December 3, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present. 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

" E, A, Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Rufus King, " 

" B, M, Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A, Garfield, " 

" N, B. Buford, « 

« J. P. Slough, " 

Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the preceding session were read and approved. 

The Court then proceeded to the trial of Major Genral Fitz John Por- 
ter, TJ, S, Vohinteers, who was called before the Court, and having heard 
the order appointing the Court read, was asked if he had any objection to 
any member named in the detail. 

The accused replied that he had no objection. 

The Court was then duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, and the Judge 
Advocate was duly sworn by the President of the Court, in the presence 
of the accused. 

At the request of the accused, permission was granted for his. counsel, 
Hon, Reverdy Johnson and Charles Eames, Esq., to be present during the 
trial. 

The accused submitted the following application in writing: 



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To Majo« General D. Hunter, President of General Court Martial, 
Washington, D. C. 

Washington City, December 2, 1862. 

General : I respectfully ask of the Court, through you, that its pro- 
ceedings may be open, not merely to the public, but also to the press. 

Accusations of a most serious character are laid against me. They ex- 
tend over a short period, embracing important operations, and are connec- 
ted with whatever of success or disaster has attended some of those opera- 
tions. The impression has gone forth that I am, in a degree, responsible 
for the latter, and I am charged with preventing success. My character 
has been assailed through the public press with charges of " doubtful loy- 
alty," and my name stained with such epithets as traitor, or "semi-traitor." 

If the testimony elicited by this Court sustains the allegations, I alone 
am the sufferer by the publicity. If my innocence be proved, after 
the impartial investigation which I am confident this honorable body will 
require, let my countrymen be convinced that the confidence reposed in 
me was not misplaced, and that, by this investigation, the Government de- 
signs to do justice to our country and to those engaged in fighting her 
battles. I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) F. J. PORTER, 

Major General. 

P. S. — December ^d. — I see, to-day, published in the morning papers, 
the report of the General-in-Chief, in which he comments on some of the 
matter for investigation before this Court. The presentation of that mat- 
ter at the present, while my trial is going on, is apt to prejudice the pub- 
lic mind, and I ask, therefore, that this application be granted. I the more 
urge this, as the General-in-Chief refrains — he says — from commenting on 
matter of complaint against General Buell, because his trial is progressing. 
(Signed) F. J. PORTER, 

Major General, 

The room was cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 

closed doois. 

After some time, the doors were re-opened, whereupon 

The Judge Advocate stated the decision of the Court to be as follows : 

The Court having considered the application of General Porter, decide 

that it will sit with open doors, in accordance with the custom of the 

service. 

The charges and specifications were then read — as follows: 

*' Charges and specifications exhibited against Major General Fitz John 
Porter, of the Volunteers of the United States Army, by B. S. Roberts, 
Brigadier General of United States Volunteers, and Inspector General of 
Major General Pope's Army of Virginia. 

Charge Isi!.^— Violation of the 9th Article of War. 

Specification 1st. — In this: that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, of the Volunteers of the United States, having received a lawful order, 
on or about the 27th August, 1862, while at or near Warrenton Junction, 
in Virginia, from Major General John Pope, his superior and commanding 
oflBcer, in the following figures and letters, to wit : 



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Headquarters Armt of Virginia, 

August 21 th, 1862, 6.30, p. m. 

Bbistow Station. 
Major General F. J. Porter, 

Warrento7i Junction. 

General : The Major Gmieral Coramanding directs that you start at 
one o'clock to-uight, and come forward with your whole corps, or such 
part of it as is with you, so as to be bere by daylight to-morrow morning. 
Hooker has had a very severe action with the enemy, with a loss of about 
three hundred killed and wounded. The enemy has been driven back, but 
is retiring along the railroad. We must drive him from Manassas, and 
clear the country between that place and Gainesville, where General Mc- 
Dowell is. If Morell has not joined you, send word to him to push for- 
ward immediately ; also send word to Banks to hurry forward with all 
speed, to take your place at Warrenton Junction. It is necessary, on all 
accounts, that you should be here by daylight. I send an officer with this 
dispatch, who will conduct you to this place. Be sure to send word to 
Banks, who is on the road from Fayettsville, probably in the direction of 
Bealton. Say to Banks, also, that he had best run back the railroad trains 
to this side of Cedar Run. If he is not with you, write him to that effect. 

By command of 

Major General Pope. 

(Signed) GEO. D. RUGGLES, 

Colonel and Chief of Staff. 

P. S. — If Banks is not at Warrenton Junction, leave a regiment of in- 
fantry and two pieces of artillery, as a guard, till he comes up, with in- 
structions to follow you immediately. If Banks is not at the Junction, 
instruct Colonel Cleary to run the trains back to this side of Cedar Run, 
and post a regiment and section of artillery with it. 
By command of 

Major General Pope, 

(Signed) GEO. D. RUGGLES, 

Colonel and Chief of Staff. 

Did then and there disobey the said order, being at the time in 



the face of the enemy ; this at or near Warrenton in the State of Virginia, 
on or about the 28th of August, 1862. 

Specification 2nd. — In this : that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, being in front of the enemy, at Manassas, Virginia, on or about the 
morning of August 29th, 1862, did rei;eive from Major General John Pope, 
his superior and commanding officer, a lawful order, in the following let- 
ters and figures, to wit : 

Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

Centreville, August 29, 1862. 
Generals McDowell and Porter : 

You will please move forward, with your joint command, towards Gains- 
ville. I sent General Porter written orders to that effect, an hour-aud-a- 
half ago. Heintzelman, Sigel, and Reno, are moving on the Warrenton 
turnpike, and must now be not far from Gainesville. I desire that, as soon 
as communication is established between this force and your own, the 
whole command shall halt. It may be necessary to iall back behind Bull 



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Run, at Oentreville, to-night. I presume it will be so on account of our 
supplies. I have sent no orders of any description to Rickelts, and none 
to interfv.'re, in any way, with the movements of General McDowell's tioops, 
except what I sent by his aide-de-camp last nioht, which were to hold his 
position on the Warrenton pike, until the troops from here should fall on 
the enemy's flank and rear- I do not even know Rickeit's position, as I 
have not been able to find out where General McDowell was, until a late 
hour this morning. General McDowell will take immediate steps to com- 
municate with General Ricketts, and instruct him to join the oiher divi- 
sions of his corps as soon as practicable. If any considerable advantages 
are to be gained by departing from this order, it will not be strictly car- 
ried out. One thing must be held in view — that the troops must occupy 
a position from which they can reach Bull Run to-night or by morning. 
The indications are that the whole force of the enemy is moving in this 
direction, at a pace that will bring them here by to-morrow niyht or the 
next day. My own headquarters will, for the preseut, be with Heint- 
zelman's corps, or at this place. 

(Signed) JOHN POPE, 

Major General Commanding . 

which order the said Major General Porter did then and there 



disobey. This at or near Manassas, in the State of Virginia, on or about 
the 29th of August, 1862. 

Specification 3d. — In this : that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, having been in front of the enemy during the battle of Manassas, on 
Friday, the 29th of August, 1862, did, on that day, receive from Major 
General John Pope, his superior and commanding officer, a lawful order, 
in the following letters and figures, to wit : 

Headquarters in the Field, 

August 29, 1862, 4.30 p. m. 
Major General Porter : 

Your line of march brings you in on the enemy's right flank. I desire 
you to push forward into action at once on the enemy's flank, and if pos- 
sible, on his rear, keeping your right in communication with General Rey- 
nolds. The enemy is massed in the woods in front of us, but can be 
shelled out as soon as you engage their flank. Keep heavy reserves and 
use your batteries, keeping well closed to your right all the time. In case 
you are obliged to fall back, do so to your right and rear, so as to keep 
you in close communication with the right wing. 

(Signed) JOHN POPE, 

Major General Commanding. 

which said order the said Major General Porter did then and there 



disobey, and did fail to push forward his forces into action, either on the 
enemy's flank or rear, and in all other respects did fail to obey said order. 
This at or near Manassas, in the State of Virginia, on or about the 29th 
of August, 1862. 

Specification 4th. — In that the said Major General Fitz John Porter, be- 
ing at or near Manassas Junction, on the night of the 29th of August, 
1862, did receive from Major General John Pope, his superior and com- 
maudmg officer, a lawful order, in figures and words as follows, to wit : 



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Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

In the Field near Bull Run, 
August 29, 1862, 8.50, p. m. 
Major General F. J. Porter: 

General— Immediately upon receipt of this order, the precise hour of 
receivino; which you will acknowledge, yon will marcli your command to 
the field (f battle of to-day, and report to me in person for orders. You 
are to understand that you are expected to comply strictly with this order, 
and to be present on the field within three hours after its reception, or after 
daybreak, to-morrow morning. 

(Signed) JOHN POPE, 

Major General Commanding. 
And the said Major General Fitz John Porter did then and there diso- 
bey the said order, and did permit one of the brigades of his command to 
march to Centreville, out of tlie way of the field of battle, and there to 
remain during the entire day of Saturday, the 30th of August. This at 
or near Manassas Station, in the State of Virginia, on the 29th and 30th 
days of August, 1862. 

Specification 5th in this : that the said Major General Fitz John Porter, 
being at or near Manassas Station, in the State of Virginia, on the night 
of the 29th August, 1862, and having received from liis superior com- 
manding officer, Major General John Pope, the lawful order set forth in 
Specification 4th to this charge, did then and there disobey the same, and 
did permit one other brignde attached to his command — being the brigade 
commanded by Brigadier General A. L. Piatt, to march to Centreville — 
and did thereby greatly delay the arrival of the said General Piatt's brigade 
on the field of battle of Manassas, on Saturday, the 30th of August, 
1862. This at or near Manassas, in the State of Virginia, on or about 
the 29th of August, 1862. 

(Signed) B. S. ROBERTS, 

Brigadier General Volunteers, 
and Inspector General Pope's Army. 

Charge 2d. — Violation of the fifty-second Article of War. 
Specification 1st. — In this, that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, during the battle of Manassas, on Friday, the 29th August, 1862, and 
while within sight of the fitld and in full hearing of its artillery, did receive 
from Major General John Pope, his superior and commanding officer, a 
lawful order to attack the enemy, in the following figures and letters, to 
wit : 

" Headquarters in the Field, 

''August 29, 1862— 4.30 p. m. 

" Major Genera] Porter: Your line of march brings you in on the 
enemy's right flank. I desire you to push forward into action at once on 
the enemy's flank, and, if possible, on his rear, keeping your right in com- 
munication with General Reynolds. The enemy is massed in the woods 
in front of us, but can be shelled out as soon as you engage their-flank. 
Keep heavy reserves, and use your batteries, keeping well closed to your 
right all the time. In case you are obliged to fall back, do so to your 
right and rear, so as to keep you in close communication with the right 
wing. 

(Signed) "JOHN POPE, 

'■'Major General Commanding^'' 



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Which said order the said Major General Porter did then and there sliame- 
fully disobey, and did retreat from advancing forces of the enemy, without 
any attempt to engage them, or to aid the troops who were already fight- 
ing greatly superior numbers, and were relying on the flank attack he was 
thus ordered to make to secure a decisive victoiy and to cHpture the ene- 
my's army — a result which must have followed from said flank attack, had 
it been made by the said General Porter, in compliance with the said order, 
wliich he so shamefully disob(-yed. This at or near Manassas, in the State 
of Virginia, on or about the 29th of August, 1862. 

Specification 2d. — In this, that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, being with his army corps on Friday the 29th August, 18G2, between 
Manassas station and the field of a battle then pending between the forces 
of the United States and those of the rebels, and within sound of the guns, 
and in the presence of the enemy, and knowing that a severe action of 
great consequence was being fought, and that the aid of his corps was 
greatly needed, did fail all day to bring it on the field, and did shamefully 
fall back and retreat from the advance of the enemy, without any attempt 
to give them battle, and without knowing the forces from which he shame- 
fully retreated. This near Manassas station, in the State of Viiginia, on 
the 29th of August, 1862. 

Specification 3d. — In that the said Major General Fitz John Porter, be- 
ing with his army corps near the field of battle of Manassas, on the 29th 
August, 1862, while a severe action was being fought by the troops of 
Major General Pope's command, and, being in the belief that the troops of 
the said General Pope were sustaining defeat and retiring fiom the field, 
did shamefully fail to go to the aid of the said troops and general, and did 
shamefully retreat away and fall back with his army to the Manassas 
junction, and leave to the disasters of a presumed defeat the said army, 
and did fail, by any attempt to attark the enemy, to aid in averting the 
misfortunes of a disaster that would have endangered the safety of the 
capital of the country. This at or near Manassas station, in the State of 
Virginia, on the 29th day of August, 1862. 

Specification 4th. — In this, that the said Major General Fitz John Por- 
ter, on the field of battle of Manassas, on Saturday the 30th August, 1862, 
having received a lawful order from his supeiior ofiicer and commanding 
general — Major General John Pope — to engage the enemy's lines and 
to carry a position near their centre, and to take an annoying battery 
there posted, did proceed in the execution of that order with unnecessary 
slowness, and, by delays, give the enemy opportunities to watch and know 
his movements, and to prepare to meet his attack, and did finally so feebly 
fall upon the enemy's lines as to make little or no impression on the same, 
and did fall back and draw away his forces unnecessarily, and wiihout 
making any of the great personal efi"oits to rally his troops or to keep 
their lines, or to inspire his troops to meet the sacrifices and to make the 
resistance demanded by the importance of his position and the momen- 
tous consequences and disasters of a retreat at so critical a juncture of 
the day. 

(Signed) B. S. ROBERTS, 

Brig. Gen. Vols, and Inspector General Pope's Army. 

After the reading of the foregoing charges and specifications was con- 
cluded — 



12 

The Judge Advocate said : The last specification (Specification 4th, 
under Charge 2d) is withdrawn, as it is my purpose to offer no proof 
under it. 

The accused asked if that specification was to be entered upon the 
record, th;^ Judo;e Advocate having notified the Court of its withdrawal. 

The Judge Advocate. It is nei;es>arily a part of the record, because a 
copy was made out and served upon General Porter before I had con- 
sultf^d with the witnesses and decided that I sliould offer no testimony 
under it. I cannot now mutilate the record, but I enter upon the record 
a formal withdrawal, and that is an end to that specification. There is, 
therefore, no plea necessary to it. 

The accused then submitted the following paper as the basis of objec- 
tion to the court proceeding further in the case : 

Washington, D. C, Bee. 3, 1862. 

There is a question of form, possibly involving important matter of law, 
to which I now, upon my own reflt-ctions and the advice of my counsel, 
deem it proper respectfully to ask the consideration of the Court. 

The charges and specifications furnished to me are signed by B. S. 
Roberts, Brigadier General of Volunteers and Inspector General of I'ope's 
arm}'. The order ('onvening a military commission in my case recited 
that the subject-matter of its investigation was charges preferred against 
me by Major General John Pope. 

I desire to be informed whether, under these circumstances, the charges 
before this Court, signed, as above stated, by an ofiicer of General Pope's 
staff, whose official character as such appears as part of his signature, be 
or be not, in the judgment of the Court, in contemplation of law, charges 
preferred by Major General Pope, or by his order, so as to make the pre- 
sentation of them his act. 

Should the court hold this to be the legal fact, then, as the Court is 
aware, the order convening this Court is not legal, in view of the pro- 
vision of the Statute of 1830, which requires the Court, in such a case, to 
be convened by the President of the United States, and not, as this Court 
is convened, by order of the General in-Chief; 

The determination of this question now may prevent embarrassment 
and delay hereafter, and in that view solely I now present ir, and not with 
the slightest purpose of taking any exception to any member of the Court. 
(Signed) F. J. PORTER, 

Major General. 

The Judge Advocate. The accused refers to the order appointing a 
military commission, in which it was recited that it was to try charges 
preferred by Major General Pope. In point of fact, no charges ever were 
preferred by him. That commission was dissolved, and this General Court- 
Martial appointed by virtue of this order : 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant GeneraVs Office, Washtnffton,Wov. 25, 1862. 

Special Orders, No. 3C2. 

[Extract] 

The military commission ordered to assemble on the 30th instant, by 
Special Order No. 350, November lYih, 1862, from headquarters of the 
army, is hereby dissolved ; and a general court-martial is hereby appointed 



13 



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to meet in this city on the 27th instant, or as soon thereafter as practica- 
ble, for the trial of Major General Fitz John Porter, United States vol- 
unteers. 

There is no reference to the charges, or by whom they are preferred, 
in the order appointing this Court. 

The Accused. The question laised by the paper just read by the ac- 
cused is, that perhaps, in point ()f legal effect, these charges, although 
signed by Brigadier General R(»berts, as inspector general of Pope's army, 
are to be considered as charges preferred by General Pope himself. We 
desire to have that question disposed of. 

The Judge Advocate. There is no leference in the order, appointing 
this court, to Gen. Pope at all. I wish to state distinctly that Major Gen- 
eral Pope is not the prosecutor in lids case, nor has he preferred these 
charges, nor do I present them as being pieferred by him. 

The room was then cleared and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 
closed door.s. 

After some time the doors were reo])ened. 

The Judge Advocate i^tated the decision of the Court to be as follows: 
The Court determine that they wid overrule the objection ; that the 
Court is properly organized; and that the accused shall plead to the 
charges and specifications. 

Whereupon the accused entered the following plea : 
To Specification 1st, Cliarge 1st, not guilty. 
Specification 2d. Charge 1st, not guilty. 
Specification 3d, Charge 1st, not guilty. 
Specification 4th, Charge 1st, not guilty. 
Specification 5th, Chaige 1st, not guilty. 

And to the charge , not guilty. 

Specitication 1st, Charge 2d, not guilty. 
Spe-ification 2d, Charge 2d, not gudty. 
Specification 3d, Charge 2d, not guilty. 

And to the charge , not guilty. 

The Juuge Advocate stated that there were no witnesses now in attend- 
ance. 

Wheieupon the Court adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, December 4, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D, Hunter, United States volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Rufus Kinir, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. liicketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

« N. B. Buford, " 

J. P. Slough, » 

Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 



14 

The minutes of the preceding session were read and approved. 

The Judge Advocate laid before the Court, for its use during the trial, a 
map marked "Government Exhibit. A," being a map entitled "Map of 
Norttieasiern Virginia and Viciniiy of Wai^hington ; compiled at Topo- 
graphical Engineer's Office, at Division Headquarters of General Irwin 
McDowell, Arlington, January 1, 1802, frotn published and manuscript 
maps corrected by receut surveys and reconnoissances." 

The Court then proceeded to ihj examination of witnesses. 

M-HJor General John Pope was called by the Government, sworn, and 
examined as follows ; 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state to the Court what position you occupy in the mili- 
tary service of the United States? 

A. I hold a commission as Brigadier General in the regular army and 
as Major General of Volunteers. 

Q. What was your position and command, and what the field of your 
operations, on the 27th of August last? 

A. Do yon mean my military position as commander? 

Q. Yes, sir. 

A. I commanded the Army cf Virginia, which, as originally consti- 
tuted, consisted of the army corps of McDowell, Banks, and Fremont. 
These, by the 27th of August, had bi^en reinforced by a poition of Gen. 
Burnside's comniand, by Gen. Heintzelman's corps, and, on the morning of 
the 27th, by a part of Gen. Porter's cor|)S. A portion of my command 
also consisted of the troops under Gen. Siurgis, which had begun to come 
up to Warrenton Junctiuu. I was myself, on the morning of the 27th, at 
Warrenfcjn Junction. The field of operations of the army at that time 
covered the region of country between the Warrenton turnpike and the 
Orange and Alexandria railroad. 

Q. At what time on the 27th did you leave Warrenton Junction, and 
in what direction did you march ? 

A. I left Warrenton Junction before midday, I think, though the pre- 
cise hour I do not remember, and moved east, along the railroad, follow- 
ing the movement of Hooker's division, towards Manassas Junction. 

Q. At what time did Gen, Porter arrive with his command, or the 
portion of his command of which you speak, at Warrenton Junction ? 

A. I think between the hours of 7 and 10 o'clock in the morning of 
the 27 th of August. 

Q. How many troops had he then with him? 

A. He reported to me that he had brought up Sykes' division of regu- 
lars, numbering 4,500 men. 

Q. Did you see his troops; and, if so, what was their condition ? 

A. I only saw them at a distance, as they passed along; not sufficiently 
near to ascertain anything about that. 

Q. Did you, or not, after you lefr Warrenton Junction, and proceeded 
along the road east, issue to Major-Gen. Porter an order in reference to 
the movements of his troops ; and, if so, what was the character of that 
order ? 

A. I issued an order to Gen. Porter, late in the afternoon of the 27th, 
directing him to move with his command, at 1 o'clock that night, to the 
position I then occupied at Kettle Run ; that if Gen. Morill, with his 
other division, was not up to Warrenton Junction when he received that 



15 ^ 

order to send back and hurry him np, and to come forward himsell«with 
the troops which he had : that is my remembrance of the order. I gave 
him some further directions concerning Gen. Banks' movement, the sub- 
stance of which I remember very well, but not the precise words. 

Q. Will you look at this order, which is dated " Headquarters Army 
of Virginia, August 27th, 1862, 6,30 p. m., Bristow Station, to Maj. Gen. 
F. J. Porter, Warrenton Junction," and state whether or not that is the 
order to which you refer in your answer ? 

A. That is the order I issued. 

[The accused admitted that the order shown to witness is the order, a 
copy of which is set forth in the fiist specificatious of first chai'ge.] 

Q. Will you explain to the Court the reasons for the urgency of the 
order, as indicated by the following words of the order? 

" It is necessary on all accounts that you should be here by daylight. 
I send an officer with this dispatch who will conduct you to this place." 

A. Gen. Hooker's division had had a severe tight along the railroad, 
commencing some four miles west of Bristow's Station, and had succeeded 
in driving ihe division of Gen. Ewell back along the road, but without 
putting it to rout, so that at dark Ewell's forces still confronted Hooker's 
division along the banks of a small stream at Bristow Station. Just at dark 
Hooker sent me word, and Gen, Heintzelman also reported to me, that he 
Hooker was almost entirely out of ammunition, having but five ruunds to 
a man left; and that if any action took place in the morning he would 
in consequence be without the means of making any considerable defence. 
As it was known that Jackson, with his own, and the division of A. P. 
Hill, was at or in the vicinity of Manassas Junction, and near enough to 
advance to the support of Ewell, it was altogether piobable that, if he 
should learn the weakness of our forces there, he would unite and make 
an attack in the morning. It was for that purpose that I was so anxious 
that Gen. Porter's corps should be present by daylight, the earlieot mo- 
ment at which it was likely the attack would be mada. 

Q. What distance would Gen. Porter have had to march to have 
obeyed your order ? 

A. About 9 miles. 

Q. And within what time? From one o'clock until when? 

A. He would have had until daylight. I do not remember ex- 
actly what time daylight was ; perhaps 4 o'clock, perhaps a little ear- 
lier. I directed him to move at 1 o'clock, in order to give his command 
as much time to remain in their beds at night as possible ; supposing that 
it would occupy him perhaps three hours to get upon the ground. 1 had 
expected him there certainly by 4 o'clock. 

Q. You had just passed over the road, along which he was required 
by this order to march : will you state its condition ? 

A. The road was in good condition everywhere. At most places along 
the road it was a double road on each side of the railroad track. I am 
not sure it was a double road all the way ; a part of the way I know it 
was. 

Q. Did Gen. Porter obey that order ? 

A. He did not. 

Q. At what time on the 28th did he arrive at Bristow Station, the 
point indicated in your order ? 

A. As the head of his column came to Bristow Station, I took out my 
watch ; it was 20 minutes past 10 o'clock in the morning. 



16 

Q^D'id he at that time, or at any time before his arrival, explain to 
you the reason why he did not obey the order ? 

A. He wrote me a note which I received, I think, in the morning of 
the 28Lh — very early in the moruing, perhaps a little before daylight ; I 
am not quite sure about the time. The note I have mislaid ; I can give 
the substctnce of it. I remember the reasons given by Gen. Porter; if it 
is necessary to state them I can do so. 

The Accused asked if the witness had looked for the note. 

The Witness : I have looked for it, but have not been able to find it. 

The Judge Advocate : I will not press the question. 

The Accused : I do not object to it. The witness says he has looked 
for the note, and cannot find it. I oidy want to know when and where 
he has seaiched for it. 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. What was the character of the night? was it starlight? 

A. Yes, sir; as I remember, it was a clear night ; that is my i*ecollec- 
tion. 

Q. If there were any obstacles in the way of such a march as your 
order contemplated, either growing out of the night or the character of 
the road, will you please state tLem ? 

A. There was mo difficulty in marching, so far as the night was con- 
cerned, I have several times made marches, with a larger force than 
Gen. Porter had, during the night. There was some obstruction on the 
road, in a wagon train tLiat was stretched along the road, marching towards 
the Manassas Junction, in rear of Hooker's division ; not sufficient, in 
my judgment, to have delayed for any considerable lengtli of time the 
passage of artillery. But, even had the I'oads been entirely blocked up, 
the railroad track was clear, and along that track had pa?sed the larger 
portion of Gen. Hooker's infantry. There was no obstruction to the ad- 
vance of infantiy. 

Q. Whatever obstacles, in point of fact, may have existed to the exe- 
cution of this order, I ask you, as a military man, was it or not the duty 
of Geu. Porter, receiving this command from you as his superior officer, 
to have made efforts, and earnest efforts, to obey? 

A. Undoubtedly it was his duty. 

Q. Will you state what orders, if any, you gave to Gen. Porter, on the 
29ih of August, in reference to tlie movements of himself and his men ; 
and the grounds upon which those orders were based? 

A. In answer to that question it will, perhaps, be necessary for me to 
state, at least partially, the condition of things on the afternoon of the 
28th, and during the night of the 28th and 29th of August for the rea- 
son that the information from the front, upon which the dispositions of 
the army were made, varied at dift'erent periods of the day and night ; 
and it was not until towards daylight in the morning of the 29th that I 
became thoroughly satisfied of the position of the enemy, and of the ne- 
cessaiy movements of troops to be made in consequence. The orders 
that I gave to Gen. Porter on the 29th of August, as I remember them, 
were four. 

One of them was dated in the night, I think ; I do not remember the 
time. That order, I think, requiied him, in consequence of information 
we had received of the concentration of the enemy's forces beyond Cen- 
trevdle, to move upon Centreville. But about daylight in the morning I 
sent Gen. Porter an order to take his own army corps, which was then at 



17 



/^^ 



Manassas Junction, and which by my order had been reinforced by the 
brigade of Gen. Piatt, which had come up there in the command of Gen. 
Sturgis, and King's division of McDowell's corps which had withdrawn to 
Manassas Junction or to that vicinity during the night of the 28Lh, and 
move forward in the direction of Gainesville. 

An hour and a half later I received a note from Gen. McDowell, whom 
I had not been able to find until that hour in the morning, requesting 
that King's division of his corps be not turned over to Gen. Porter, 
but that he be allowed to conduct it himself. I then sent a joint order to 
Generals Porter and McDowell, directed to them at Manasses Junction, 
specifying in detail the movement that I wished to be made by the troops 
under their command. The withdrawal of King's division of McDowell's 
corps, which during the greater part of the night I had understood to be 
on the Warrenton turnpike, and west of the troops under Jackson ; their 
withdrawal to Manassas Junction I feared had left open Jackson's retreat 
in the direction of Thoroughfare Gap, to which point the main portion of 
the army of Lee was then tending to reinforce him. I did not desire to 
pursue Jackson beyond the town of Gainesville, as we could not have done 
so on account of the want of supplies, rations for the men, and forage for 
the horses. My order to Generals Porter and McDowell is therefore 
worded that they shall pursue the route to Gainesville until they effect a 
junction with the forces that are marching upon Gainesville from Centre- 
ville — the forces under Heintzelman, Sigel, and Reno — and that when 
that junction was formed, as I expected it would have been very near 
Gainesville, the whole command should halt; it being, as I stated before, 
not feasible with my command, io the condition it was in on account of 
supplies, to pursue Jackson's forces further. 

During the whole moruiug the forces under Sigel and Heintzelman had 
kept up a skirmishiug with the rear of Jackson's forces, they retiring in 
the direction of Gainesville. They were brought to a stand at the little 
town of Groveton, about eight miles, I think, from Centreville, and 
perhaps five or six miles from Gainesville. 

When I rode on to the field of battle, which was about noon, having 
been delayed at Centreville, 1 found that the troops had been sharply en- 
gaged, and were still confronting each other. Gen. Sigel reported to me 
that he needed reinforcements in thn front, that his line was weak, and 
that his troops required to be withdrawn from the action. I told him, as 
I did Gen. Heintzelman, who was present on the ground, that I ^only 
wished them to maintain their positions, as the corps of McDowell and 
Porter were then on the march from Manassas Junction towards the 
enemy's right liank, and ought, in a very short time, to be in such position 
as to fiill upon that portion of his line. I desired them, therefore, only to 
maintain the position they occupied. We waited for the arrival of 
Generals McDowell and Porter. 

At 4 o'clpck, or some little after that time, perhaps at half-past 4 in the 
afternoon, finding that neither McDowell nor Porter had made their ap- 
pearance on the field, I sent an order to Gen. Porter informing him gene- 
rally of the condition of things on the field, and stating to him that I 
desired him to push forward and attack the enemy in flank, and if pos- 
sible in rear, without any delay. This order was sent to Gen. Porter 
about half-past 4 in the afternoon. 

Finding that Gen. Porter did not comply with this order, and receiving 
a despatch which he sent to Generals McDowell and King stating to them 

2 



18 

tbat he was about to fall back, or was falling back to Manassas JuBctioc, 
and that he did so because be saw clouds of dust, showing that, in his 
judgment, the enemy was advaucing on the road he was occupying ; and 
stating that it appeared to him from the fire of the battle, that lie had 
been listening to, that our forces were retreating and tLe enemy advancing, 
and he had determined to fall back to Manassas Junction, and recom- 
mended General's McDowell and Kiug to send back their trains also; 
receiving this note purporting to be bom Gen. Porter to Generals Mc- 
Dowell and King, I sent an order to Gen. Porter directing him, immedi- 
ately upon the receipt of the order, to march his whole command to the 
field of battle, and to report to me in person for ordeis, stating to him 
that I expected him to comply strictly with that order. I put it in such 
form, perhaps not entirely conrttous, becaus^e I had understood Gen. 
Poiter, upon two several occasions, to have disobeyed the orders that I 
had sent him. These are all the orders that I issued on that day and 
night to Gen. Porter. 

I will state, in addition to what I have already said, that the first of 
these orders to which I have refened, being subsequently superseded, is 
not perhaps referred to here. I will also state that the corps of Sigei, 
Heintzelman, and Reno, were formed in line of battle across the Warren- 
ton turnpike, facing to the west, and near the little town of Groveton, or 
at it; almost at the 'point where the road from Manassas Junction t'> 
Sudley Spring, the Sudley Spring road I think it is called, cri ss^^-s Wairen- 
ton turnpike ; a little in advance of that road. 

[The Judge Advocate stated that the first order referred to by the 
witness in his ansA^er to the last interrogatoiy is not referred to in the 
specifications, being superseded by a subsi;;quent order.] 

Q. Excluding from view the first order, given on the morning of the 
29lh of August, and which diiected Gen. Porter to fall back upon Centre- 
ville, and which you say was superseded by a subsequent order, are or are 
not the other three orders which you have enumerated in your last.auswer, 
given to Gen. Porter on that day, the same which are set forth in the 2d, 
3d, and 4th specifications of the first charge preferred against him ? 
[Handing witness the charges and specifications.] 

A. [After examining them.] They are the same orders. 

Q. Do you mean to say that the order set foith in the 2d specification, 
addressed to Generals McDowell and Porter, is the one which superseded 
that first order ? 

A. No, sir; there was one sent to Gen. Porter previously to that time, 
giving nearly the same directions, and which is referred to in that joint 
order, as having been given an hour and a half before. I repeated that 
second order in detail because I was not sure that Gen. Porter had re- 
ceived the order referred to there as having been sent to him an hour and 
a half before. 

Q. At what hour in the morning was this oider issued, addressed to 
Generals McDowell and Porter, and set forth in the second specification 
of the first charge ? 

A. I do not remember distinctly ; I think it was somewhere between 8 
and 9 o'clock in the morning. 

Q. Was there an engagement then pending ? 

A. Fighting was then going on along the turnpike that led from Cen- 
treville to Warreuton ; fighting was going on quite sharply. 



19 



/s/ 



Q. Did the march of Gen. Porter's command, as indicated iu that order, 
lead him towards that battle? 

A. Yes, sir. It le 1 him towards the flank of the enemy. 

Q. What forces had be under liis command that morning when that 
order was issued? 

A. He had, or should have hail, at Manassas Junction the whole of his 
own corps, which, from his report to me at Warrenton Junction, I under- 
stood to be between 8,500 and 9,000 men. I bad added to his command 
the tioops forming the brigade commanded by Gen. Piatt; they were to 
belong to the division of Gen. Sturgis, and I think they numbered about 
3,500 mt-n. Their exact strength I do not know ; that was the impression 
1 got from Gen. Sturgis. 

Q. Was that his entire command? 

A. That was bis entire command. I understood him to have had from 
12,000 to 12,500 men nt Manassas Junction. 

Q. What was the distance bettveen Manassas Junction and the scene 
of this engagement of which you speak? 

A. Between 5 and 6 miles, I think ; though I had not been myself 
over the road. 

Q. Do you know the character of the road? Had you passed over it? 

A. I had not passed over it. 

Q. Did Gen. Porter obey the order addressed to him and General 
McDowell ? 

A. I do not know whether he obeyed it ; he did not obey it fully ; 
how far he obeyed it I am not able to say ; he certainly did not ofeey the 
order fully. 

Q. If he had obeyed it, would it not have brought him up with the 
enemy before half-past four iu the evening? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. On your arriving on the battle-field where was he reported to you 
to be ? 

A. I arrived on the battle-field at 12 o'clock, about noon. At four 
and a-half o'clock nobody on the field knew where Gen. Porter was at all. 

Q. Did or did not Gen. Porter obey the second order to which you 
refer, issued at 4.30 P.M. on the 29th of August, directing him to engage 
the enemy in flank, and if possible in rear ? 

A. He did not, so far as my knowledge of the fact goes. 

Q. You have no knowledge of his having made any attack then? 

A. I should have known it if he had attacked. 

Q. AVill you state to the Court, and describe the condition of tbe bat- 
tle-field at that hour, and the importance of his obedience of that order, 
to the success of your troops ? 

A. Late in the afternoon of the 29th, perhaps towards half-past 5 or 6 
o'clock — about the time that I hoped that Gen. Porter would be in his 
position and he assaulting the enemy on tbe flank — and when Gen. 
McDowell had himself arrived with his corps on the field of battle, I directed 
an attack to be made on the left of the enemy's line, which was hand- 
somely done by Heintzelman's corps, and Reno's corps. The enemy was 
driven back in all directions, and left a large part of the ground with his 
dead and wounded upon it, in our possession. Had Gen. Porter fallen 
upon the flank of tiie eneni}', as it was hoped, at any time up to 8 o'clock 
that night, it is my firm conviction that we should have destroyed the 
army of Jackson. 



20 

Q. You have stated that Gen. McDowell obeyed that order, so far as to 
appear upon the battle-field with his command ? 

^1. Yes sir. He arrived on the battle-field I think about 5 o'clock, and 
immediately pushed forward his corps to the frout ; the division of Gen. 
King having a very sharp engagement with the enemy along the Warren- 
ton turnpike, in advance of the position that we had occupied during the 
day. 

Q. To reach the battle-field, had or had not Gen. McDowell as great a 
distance to march as Gen. Porter ? 

A. Yes sir, I should think fully as great. 

Q. I believe you have stated the distance from Manassas Junction to 
the battle-field as about 4 or 5 miles? 

A. Five or six miles ; I am not quite sure : that is my impression. 

Q. Is or is not that about the distante which the command of Gen. 
Porter would have had to have inarched to have obeyed your order? 

A. It would have had to march less than that. You refer, I suppose, 
to the order I issued about half-past four in the afternoon. 

Q. Yes sir. 

A. Gen. Porter was reported to me, by the aid-de-camp who delivered 
him that order, to be two miles or more from Manassas Junction in the 
direction of the field of battle. 

Q. In point of fact, did or did not Gen. McDowell, in obeying that 
order, pass Gen. Porter and his command on the way ? 

A. I so understood. Gen. McDowell can tell that better than 1 can 
myself. 

Q. I will ask you now in regard to the last order, that which purports 
to be dated on the 29th of August, at 8.50 P. M., and is set forth in the 
fourth specification of the first charge. I will ask you if Gen. Porter 
obeyed that order or not ? 

A. Gen. Porter appeared himself on the field the next morning with a 
portion of his command. Two brigades, how%ver, were not present with 
him, but were reported by aids-de-camp to me as being at Centreville. 

Q. Do you, or not know at what point those brigades were separated 
from his command ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. What brigades were they ? 

A. One was Gen. Griflan's brigade ; the other was Gen. Piatt's brigade, 
I would say, how^ever, of the latter brigade, that when they reached Cea- 
treville, and found that there was a battle going on in the advance, they 
marched forward to the field, and made their appearance on the 
ground, and took part in the action, late in the afternoon of the 30th of 
August. That is the brigade of Gen. Piatt ; they did so without orders 
to that effect from anybody. 

Q, Do you know what became of Gen. Griffin's brigade, or where it 
was during the battle of the 30th of August? 

A. Of my own knowledge I do not know ; except what was reported 
to me by my aid-de-camp from Centreville, that the brigade was there. 

Q. It took no part in the action ? 

^1. No sir. 

Q. Will you state what eft'ect, if any, was produced, or was liable to 
be produced, on the fortunes of that battle by the absence of that force ? 

A. A very great etfect. I do not know the strength of Gen. Griftin's 
brigade ; but a brigade of four regiments and a battery of artillery, as 1 



21 

understood it, that was utterly withdrawn from the field ; took no part in 
the action. Gen. Piatt's command got up very. late ; too late to do any- 
thing, except, indeed, to contribute to enable us to maintain our ground 
untit the darkness closed the fight. The presence of the other brigade 
would undoubtedly have been of immense benefit. 

Q. Did or did not you regard the withdrawal of those brigades from 
Gen. Porter's command, under the circumstances, a clear violation of the 
order issued to him to report with his command on the battle-field ? 

[Question objected to by a member of the Court. The room was clear- 
ed, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with closed doors. 

After some time the doors were re-opened ; whereupon 

The Judge Advocate stated the decision of the Court to be that the 
question should be propounded to the witness.] 

Q. [Repeated.] Did or did not you regard the withdrawal of those 
brigades from Gen. Porter's command, under the circumstances, a clear 
violation of the order issued to him to report with his command on the 
battle-field ? 

A. Undoubtedly. 

Q. Will you state to the Court whether or not you had made known 
to Gen. Porter the position of tlie enemy's forces, and your plans and in- 
tentions, so far and so fully that he knew the critical condition of your 
army, and the importance of rapid movements, and prompt and energetic 
action, to secure your supplies and to guarantee success f 

A. It has been my habit to talk very freely with all officers having 
large commands in the army which I commanded. IIow far I informed 
Gen. Porter I am not now able to say. But I should presume, from my habit- 
ual practice, and from conversations that I had with him, that he under- 
stood pretty fully the condition of the army, and the positions of the 
various corps of the army. What I regarded as a necessity it is altogether 
possible he might have had a diff'erent opinion about. Therefore I cannot 
say that he understood the necessity which I understood. 

Q. What I meant to ask was, whether he was not fully aware of your 
own convictions as to the necessity of prompt and vigorous movements to 
save your army ? 

A. I cannot say of my own knowledge that he knew that. It seems to 
me that he ought to have known it ; beyond that I cannot say. 

Q. Did or did not, in your judgement, the safety of your army, and of 
the capital, at this crisis, require extraordinary personal exertions and 
sacrifices on the part of all oflicers of your command? 

A, I certainly so understood it ; or several of the battles which I fought 
there against superior forces, I should not have fought. 

By the Accused. 

Q,. At what time after the order of the 27th of August, and where, did 
you see the accused ? 

A. I saw him at Bristow Station, where I had passed the night, and to 
which point he had been ordered. 

Q. At what time of the day or night? 

A. I think about 8 o'clock on the morning of the 28th. 

Q. Had you any conversation with him in relation to the order of the 
2'7th, and his having obeyed or disobeyed it; and if so, what? 

A. I do not remember having any conversation with him in reference 



22 

to obeying or disobeying the order, although I had much conversation 
with him. 

Q. Try to recollect if you complained to him then, at any time during 
that conversation, that he had not obeyed the order of the 2'7th ; or 
whether he gave to you any explanation in relation to what he had done 
under that order ? 

A. I should not be likely to complain to my subordinate officer of a 
disobedience to my order, I am, therefore, very sure that I did not com- 
plain to Gen. Porter. I am not sure that he gave me any explanations. I 
have a general recollection that he spoke to me of his march, and the 
difficulties that he had in getting wagons out of the road. But the par- 
ticulars I do not remember, as 1 was very much occupied, and the neces- 
sity which made his presence important had passed away. His conversa- 
tion on that subject, therefore, failed to make an impression upon my 
mind. I have a general remembrance that he gave me some account of 
his march, and the difficulties he had in getting through the wagou trains : 
but it is very indistinct, 

Q. Recollect if you can, whether upon hearing his explanations, you 
did or did not express yourself satisfied ? 

A. No sir, I have no remembrance of that. 

Q. Are you certain that you did not ? 

A. I cannot be positively certain that I did not. But I am sure that it 
is quite impossible that I could have been satisfied. 

Q. Did you at any other time, or on the day of the 28th, express your- 
self as having been satisfied with the manner in which he had carried 
out, or tried to carry out youi' orders ? 

A. No sir. I had a conversation with Gen. Poiter at Fairfax Court 
House, in which I told him as distinctly as 1 thought it was necessary to 
tell him, that 1 was not satisfied. And I did so, in consequence of a ques- 
tion of Gen. Poiter, which he seemed to make a point of to me, in asking 
at Fairfax Court House, whether I had had any occasion to be dissatisfied 
with the manner in which he had discharged his duties. I replied to him 
that I had had occasion to be dissatisfied ; and mentioned certain partic- 
ulars, I think, in which I had had that occasion. 

Q. Will you state the particulars in which, at that period, you expressed 
yourself dissatisfied ? 

A. I mentioned, as well as I recollect, the disobedience of orders, at 
Bristow Station, and his failure on the field of battle on the 29th. I also 
mentioned to him the absence of Griffin's command, and its remaining 
the whole day at Centreville in sight of the battle-field, and not coming 
on the field, as being among the reasons I had for being dissatisfied. 

Q. Did he give you any, and if so, what explanation in answer to your 
expressions of dissatisfaction ? 

A. I understood him to say, in relation to Griffin, that he did not know, 
did not understand, exactly, how Griffin had got to Centreville. In rela- 
tion to the other matters, I do not know that he gave any explanations. 
It was no time for explanations. We were at Fairfax C. H., in the midst 
of a great deal of confusion ; troops passing backwards and forwards ; 
and we were expecting to move at any moment. This conversation oc- 
curred in two or three minutes, I should think. He was in the room 
where I was; perhaps three ininutes covered the whole time we were 
talking. 

Q. Are you sure it was not longer ? Say about a half an hour ? 



/^^ 



23 



A. I think not a half an hour, I should think five minutes would cover 
what conversation Gen. Porter and I had there. It might, perhaps, have 
been more ; but that is my recollection of it. 

Q. If you can recollect, state who were in the room besides yourself 
and Gen. Porter ? 

A. There were several persons in the room, four or five, perhaps, if not 
more than that. I do not now recollect who they were. The conversa- 
tion I had with Gen. Porter was while I was sitting on a sofa on one side 
of the room. Persons were coming in and going out. There were quite 
a number of persons in the room. I do not now remember who were 
there. 

Q. Can you recollect the name of any one person who was in the room ? 
If so, state it. 

A. I have a general impression that Gen. Hooker was there ; McDowell 
I think was there ; if not at the moment, they were back and forth in the 
room. Possibly Heintzelman was there also. 

Q. Do you remember whether Col. Ruggles was there or not? 

A. I think it altogether likely he was there ; although I do not re- 
member. 

Q. Have you at any time, and when, had a conversation with Colonel 
Ruggles, in relation to what passed between you and the accused, on the 
occasion referred to ? And, if you had, state what it was ? 

A. I do not remember to have had any conversation with Col. Ruggles 
on that subject ; though I mentioned to one or two persons about that 
time, perhaps a short time afterwards, that Gen. Porter had asked, at 
Fairfax C. H., in relation to his conduct. It is possible that Col. Ruggles 
may have been among the persons who heard these remarks, and to whom 
I made remarks. I am not sure about that. 

Q. Try and recollect if you had a conversation with Col. Ruggles, after 
your final report of the battles, in relation to the charges and imputations 
against the accused ; and whether he did not tell you that he had heard 
you say to the accused that you had no fault to find with him ? 

A. I have no remembrance of any such conversation. 

Q. Are you certain that you had not ? 

A. I am not certain that I had not ; but I am very certain that Col. 
Ruggles never stated a thing of that kind to me ; I feel quite sure of it, al- 
though I am not prepared to swear that he did not, I have no knowledge of it. 

Q. State on what day, if you can remember, you had the conversation 
with the accused at Fairfax C. H. ? 

A. I think it was on Tuesday morning, the 2d of September. 

Q. Say, if you can, what led to the conversation between the accused 
and yourself, on that occasion ? 

A. I think what led to it was that Gen. Porter came into the room and 
brought me a telegraphic dispatch, or a dispatch of some kind, from Gen. 
McClellan, in which Gen. McClellan urges Gen. Porter to support me in 
the operations of tht^ army. The exact character of that dispatch I do 
not remember, whether it was telegraphic or otherwise. I have repeated 
the substance of it. 

Q. Is the paper now shown you marked " Accused, Exhibit, No. 1 " 
that dispatch ? 

A. [Examining it] I think that is the dispatch. This is the substance 
of the impression made upon my mind by it. I did not read it very care^ 
fully; but it seems to me this is it. 

The dispatch was then read as follows ', 



24 

War Department, 
Sejitemher 1, 1862-5.30 p. m. 
Maj. Gen. Porter, Centreville, Commanding 6tli Corps. 

I ask of you, for my sake, that of the country and of the old Army of 
the Potomac, that you and all friends will lend the fullest and most cor- 
dial co-operation to Gen. Pope, in all the operations now going on. The 
distresses of our country, the honor of our arms, are at stake ; and all 
depends upon the cheerful co-operation of all in the field. This week is 
the crisis of our fate. Say the same thing to all my friends in the Army 
of the Potomac, and that the last request I have to make of them is, that 
for their country's sake, they will extend to Gen. Pope the same support 
they ever have to me. 

I am in chaige of the defences of Washington, and doing all I can to 
render your retreat safe, should that become necessary. 

(Signed) Geo. B. MoClellan, 

Major Oeneral. 

Q. Do you remember what the accused said in relation to the fact that 
he received such a dispatch ; and if he asked you if you knew why such 
a dispatch should be sent to him ? 

A. I do not think he asked me that question, lie asked me why I 
supposed such a dispatch had been sent to him, seeming to apprehend, or 
to believe, or to suspect, that I had reported his conduct to Washington, 
and made complaints of him which made it necessary for this dispatch to 
be sent. I told Gen. Porter that I had not reported him to the depart- 
ment in Washington, and that, as ^matters stood, I thought I should not 
take any action in reference to his case, though I felt bound to do so in 
the case of GrifBn. I think that is about the substance of what I have 
said. 

Q. If, as you have stated, you were of the opinion that the army under 
your command had been defeated, and in danger of still greater defeat, 
and the Capitol of the country in danger of capture by the enemy, and 
you thought that these calamities could have been obviated, if General 
Porter had obeyed your orders, why was it that you doubted, on the 2d 
of September, whether you would or would not take any action against 
himl 

The witness declined to answer the question, as not being relevant to 
this investigation. 

The room was cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 
closed doors. 

AftCF some time, the doors were re-opened ; whereupon 

The Judge Advocate stated the decision of the Court to be that the 
question was irrelevant. 

To this decision of the Court, the accused submitted a protest in writing 
and asked that the same be entered upon the records. 

The room was then cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 
closed doors. 

After some time, the doors were re-opened, and 

The Judge Advocate stated that the Court determined to hold the 
question as to the disposition to be made of this paper under advisement 
until to-morrow. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



/^^ 



25 



Washington, D. C, 

December 5th^ 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

E. A. Bitclicock, 

Brigadier Gen. Rufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, " 

" J. P. Slough, " 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The protest in writing, submitted by the accused, and which was under 
consideration by the Court of yesterday at the hour of adjournment was 
then read by the Judge Advocate. 

It is as follows : 

The witness having in his examination, in chief, attributed the disasters 
of the army under his command in Virginia in August last to the failure 
of the accused to obey all or some of his orders, afid having staled that 
he was of the opinion that such orders might have been obeyed ; and it 
being, so far as the prosecution has gone upon his evidence that such 
disobedience occurred, that the prosecution has endeavored to be main- 
tained, the accused is advised by his counsel that the question just ruled 
out by the Court is not only relevant and legal, but most material, in 
order to show that the recollection of the witness in such his examination 
in chief is not to be relied upon ; and that he, for the first time, afterwards 
charged the alleged disobedience upon the accused, because it was the 
duty of the witness not only not to doubt whether he would take any 
action in relation to the matter but to report the same as a grave offence 
on the part of the accused, and his determination or doubt whether he 
would take such action or make such reports are facts not only admisible 
but material evidence that at the time to which the question relates he 
did not believe there had been any such disobedience on the part of the 
accused, and therefore respectfully request to have this protest entered on 
the proceedings of the Court, against the exclusion of the question re- 
ferred to. 

(Signed) F.. J. PORTER, 

Major General. 

The Judge Advocate said : The witness requests the permission of 
the Court to answer the question referred to in the protest just read. 

The accused made no objection. 

The room was thereupon cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate 
with closed doors. 

Some time after the doors were reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced the decision of the Court to be that 
the witness have permission to answer the question referred to. 

The question was then read to the witness as follows : 



26 

Q. If, as you have stated, you were of the opinion that the army under 
your command had been defeated, and in danger of still greater defeat, 
and the capital of the country in danger of capture by the enemy, and you 
thought that these calamities could have been obviated if Gen. Porter had 
obeyed your orders, why was it that you doubted, on the 2d of Septem- 
ber, whetlier you would or would not take any action against him ? 

To which tbe witness made answer as follows : 

A. I would state that on the night of ihe 29th of August, when I found 
that Gen. Porter did not make his appearance upon the field ; and when I 
had received the dispatch which he wrote to Generals McDowell and King, 
stating that he was about to fall back to Manassas Junction I determined 
to arrest him, and had, I think, commenced to dictate the order for that 
purpose. I was persuaded not to do so by several officers who were 
about, me at the time, and changed the order into the one that appears in 
one of the specifications of those charges. 

I have endeavored, at the suggestion of the counsel for the accused, to 
remember, as far as po.>sible, the, conversations which are stated to have 
taken place between myself and Gen, Porter. I will recur to the conver- 
satinn which occurred at Fairfax Court-House, as it is a necessary part of 
tills answer. I now remember a portion of that conversation which I 
couM not recall yesterday, ;md which I will repeat here. 

I said to Gen. Porter that I had received information from friends of 
mine in Washington that tie (Gen. Porter) had written letters or sent dis- 
patches to Gen. Burnside, dated before he had joined me, which criticized 
my conduct, my military capacity, and the campaign which I was con- 
ducting very severely, and which exhibited an exceedingly unkind spirit. 
I asked Gen. Porter whether he did not consider it unfair and unjust to 
inc for him to have written such a letter before he had seen me, before 
lie knew the o.ders under which I was acting, before he knew the condi- 
tion of the army and the disposition of it, or of the army of the enemy ; 
before, in fact, he knew anything about the plan of campaign, as far as I 
was concerned, whether he did not consider it unfair and unjust to me to 
have written such a letter, as he was on the point of joining me. 

He seemed surprised that his letter had become known, and .stated to 
me that it was a private letter of his to Gen. Burnside, which he had 
never intended to go farther than Gen. Burnside ; that Gen. Kearney had 
expressed opinions opposite to his own on the subject of the campaign ; 
and that, therefore, both sides of the question would now be heard. He 
expressed his regret to me that he had written the letter under the cir- 
cumstances, without knowing the facts; said that he was sorry he had 
done so. 

After this remark I told Gen. Porter I was satisfied that in writing this 
letter he had not intended to hold back from any proper co-operation 
with me; that it was merely an expression of his private opinion in 
a private letter to another officer. Although I considered that it 
was unfair and unjust to liave written such a letter yet I was satis- 
fied when he said he thought it was not right ; and I said to Gen. Porter 
that I thought I would not push the matter against him further, or did 
not piopose to take any further action in the matter of his conduct pre- 
viously in the campaign. 1 said so at Fairfax Court House, because I did 
not at that time believe that Gen. Porter deliberately and of purpose had 
withheld his command from the assistance of the army engaged in that 
battle. I am a frank, open man ; and slow to entertain suspicions of so 



/3S 



27 



grave a character against an officer, although I had been warned by seve- 
ral officers a day or two previously that he would fail me, I did not be- 
lieve so at Fairfax Court House. 

Gen. Porter could not have believed — I am sure I had no idea that he 
believed when I stated that I did not design to take any further actioa 
against him, that I meant to say that I did not design, in my official re- 
ports of the operations of the army, to set forth all the facts as they had 
transpired on the field. This is all I have yet done. I have not preferred 
charges against him. I have merely set forth the facts in my official re- 
ports, which embrace the operations of everybody else connected with 
tbat army, as well as of Gen. Porter. 

It was not until the campaign was closed, and I came to Washington 
city, on the 4th or 5th of September, th;it I was informed by the Presi- 
dent of the United States that he had seen several dispatches or letters 
from Gen. Porter to Gen. Burnside, dated a day or two previous to these 
battles, v/hich had occasioned him very grave apprehensions that Gen. 
Porter would fail to do his duty. This communication of the President 
to me opened my eyes to many matters which I bad before been loth to 
believe, and which I cannot bring myself now to believe. 

I will now proceed to answer the preface to this question which has 
been put to me. The question is prefaced by a repiesentation that I have 
here given certain testimony and made certain statements which I have 
not made, and which will not be found upon the records of this Court. 
Why the question is put in that shape when the record is befcre the Court 
and before the counsel for the accused, I am not able to say. Ceitainly no 
such statement as those have been made by me. 

The reason why I did not put these charges against Gen. Porter, and 
why I told him at Fairfax Court-!)Ouse that I thought I should take no 
further action, was that I did not then believe that Gen. Portei's coiiduct 
was deliberate and of purpose, but I was inclined to think that his action 
or want of action there was the result of mistake or blundering rather 
than of intention. But I never for a moment had an idea of withholding 
from the knowledge of the government a full detail of tacts which, as 
every member of this Court must know, every officer commanding an army 
is required to give in his official report concerning every important trans- 
action that takes place in his command. 

I will say to the Court that I have answered this question, and only 
should have answered it, in consequence of the manner in which the pro- 
test of the accused was presented to the Court, which protest sought to 
present me in a false light. I answer it with reluctance, and 1 respectfully 
submit to the Court that that sort of questions are not relevant lo this 
case; and I would say to them, respectfully, that I shall decline, urdess 
they insist upon it, to answer any such questions in future. 

Examination by the accused continued : 

Q. Will you state by whom, and when, you were told or cautioned 
that the accused would not obey your orders, or co-operate with you? 

A. I would prefer the qucbtion to be put in the form in which I made 
my statement. I said that " General Porter would fail me." That was 
the statement I made. I <lo not like to have these (]Uestions put so as to 
feem to imply that I have made statements which I have not made, 

Q. I will put it in that form ; I understood it the other way. By whom 



28 

were you told or cautioned that the accused would fail you, and when 
were you so told ? 

A. I think ou the 27th of August, and again I think on the 28th of 
August, by Gen. Roberts, and on the night of the 28th of August by Lieut. 
Col. Smith. 

Q. Is the Gen. Roberts you refer to the same officer who exhibits these 
charges ? 

A. I do not know of my own knowledge who exhibits these charges. 

Q. It is Brig. Gen. Roberts. Is there any other Gen. Roberts ? 

A. I do not know of any other. 

[The Judge Advocate admitted that it was the same ofiicer,] 

Q. Are those the only two officers from whom you got this informa- 
tion ? 

A. Those are the only two that I remember distinctly. I heard much 
talk of that kind from many others, but I do not remember who they are. 
I heard it on several occasions. 

Q. Will you state whether yuu informed the accused, in the conversa- 
tion at Fairfax Court-house or before or after, that it had been your 
purpose to put him under arrest ? 

A. I do not think I informed him at all on the subject. 

Q. Will you state by whom you were advised not to put him under 
arrest ? 

A. By Gen. McDowell, for one ; by Gen. Roberts, I think, for another ; 
by Gen. Hooker, I think, for a third, and I think by Gen. Heintzelman. 

Q. State if you can remember, if the accused proposed to answer the 
despatch of Major Gen. McClellan by telegraph, and whether he was or 
was not permitted to use the telegraph ? 

The Judge Advocate objected to the question. 

The accused said he proposed to follow up that question, if allowed by 
the Court, by asking the witness if the paper, whicti would be shown to 
him, was not the answer proposed to be sent. 

The room was cleared, and the Court proceeded to deliberate with 
closed doors. 

After some time the doors were reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced that the Court sustained the objection. 

The accused inquired of the Court if under that decision he would 
be allowed to use, m the examination of this witness, the paper purport- 
ing to bo the answer proposed to be sent to Gen. McClellan. 

The President of the Court said the paper could be used in the 
defence of the accused, but, under the decision of the Court, not in the 
examination of tliis witness. 

The Judge Advocate said that, at the request of the witness, he would 
Withdraw his objection, as the witness expressed a desire to be permitted 
to answer the question. 

To which no objection was made. 

The question was then read to the witness, as follows : 

Q. State, if you can remember, if the accused proposed to answer the 
despatch of Major General McClellan by telegraph, and whether he was 
or was not permitted to use the telegraph ; and is this the paper which 
the accused at that time exhibited as the answer he proposed to send? 

The paper marked " Accused, Exhibit No. 2," was then read as fol- 
lows : 



29 

"Fairfax Court-house, 10 a. m., 

September 2, 1862. 
" You may rest assured that all your friends, as well as every lover of 
his country, will ever give, as they have given, to General Pope their 
cordial co-operation and constant support in the execution of all orders 
and plans. Our killed, wounded, and enfeebled troops attest our devoted 
duty. 

" (Signed,) F. J. POPtTER. 

'■''Major General Commanding P 
" Gen. Geo. B. McClellan, Washington^ 

A. I am not sure that I read this despatch. I think I did not. But I 
rem(-raber that General Porter said something to nic or asked permission 
from me to send a telegraphic despatch, I think, in reply to this despatch 
of General McClellan. I stated to him that I had many days previously 
received positive orders from General Halleck to allow no despatches of 
any description to pass over the telegraphic line, except official despatches 
signed by myself. I had never permitted anybody to send such despatches, 
unless countersigned by me, on official business, nor had I myself taken 
the liberty of sending any despatches, except official despatches on array 
business, as I did not consider myself justified in doing so under the orders 
from the gen oval -in cliief. 

Q. Try to recollect whether you objncted to that pait of the p^per 
just read which speaks of " co-operation," and, if you did, what the objec- 
tion Avas. 

A. I have stated that I do not think I read the paper. I certainly do 
not remember its contents. The only objection, and an objection which 
would have held against any despatch, was the order of my superior 
officer. 

Q. State, if you can remember, whether you did not at that time inform 
the accused that, in consequence of a despatch from him that had been 
intercepted by the War Office, you were of opinion that he was not dis- 
posed to co-operate with you ? 

A. I think I have already answered that question in recounting my 
conversatioo at Fairfax Court-house — that I called Gen. Porter's attention 
to that despatch which was sent by him before he joined me. 

Q. The question is whether it was in referrence to his actual co-opera- 
tion or his purpose to co-operate with you ? 

A. " Co-operation " is a word that I do not exactly understand in con- 
nection with military matters. Do you mean to say that I suspected that 
General Porter would not do his duty 1 That, perhaps, is the better word. 
I do not understand that he co-operated with me, being under my com- 
mand. 

Q. "Co-operation" and "support" are the two words in that paper? 

A. I do not know that I stated to him that I was fearful he would not 
co-operate with me. But I told him of this letter, and I think I must 
have given him to suppose, at least, that I entertained a fear that his feel- 
ings would prevent his doing all that he could. I do not know that I said 
even that much to him. 

Q. Did you at any time, and when, after the 30th of August, consult . 
with the accust^d, as one of a board of officers, as to the best disposition 
to be made of the army under your command, as it then stood ? 

A. At Centieville; I think on the 31st of August. It may, perhaps, 



30 

have b-en upon the 1st of September, but I am inclined to think it was 
on the 31st of August. I svnt for the commanders of army corps belong- 
ing to that array, and desiied them not together, but as they came in to 
inform me of the condition of their commands, and to give me their opin- 
ions as to the best course to be pursued That is the extent of any con- 
sultation that I had with thf-m, that I know of. 

Q. Was the accused one of the commanders of corps at that time that 
you consulted ? 

A. Yes, sir, I sent for all commanders of army corps, of which General 
Porter was one. 

Q. Did he give his opinion ? 

A. Several of the corps commanders did express opinions. In the midst 
of it, and during the course of their coming in and giving their opinions, 
I received a dispatch from the General-in-Chief in Washington, which 
gave me such directions, concerning the course I was to pursue, as ren- 
dered any further expression of opinion unnecessary. I do not now re- 
member whether Gen. Porter was one who gave his opinion, as the order 
of the General-in-Chief took away all consequence from the opinions — 
such as they would have had otherwise. There were several who did not 
give opinions. I remember Gen. Porter being presents but whether he 
expressed any opinion or not, I do not remember. 

Q. At what time of the day, of the 31st of August or the 1st of Sep- 
tember, (whichever may have been the time of the council,) did you re- 
ceive the dispatch from the General-in-Chief? 

A. I do not remember exactly, but I think about mid-day. 

Q. You have said, in answer to one of the interrogatories in chief, that 
you had travelled over the roads or road upon which the column of the 
accused would have to pass under the order of the 27th of August, and 
that there was nothing in the condition of the road at the time, in your 
opinion, to prevent his compliance with that order within the time pre- 
scribed by the order. Will you state on what day, and at what time of 
the day, you passed over the road ? 

A. I will state first that I have not made exactly the statement con- 
tained in that question. I did not state that the condition of the road 
was such that he could have brought up his whole command in the time 
specified by that order. That he could have brought up his infantry, I 
did stale. I stated, in my former answer, that I did not think the wagon 
trains would have occasioned any considerable delay in the movement of 
the artillery. I passed over the road between 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock in 
the afternoon of the 2'7th of August. The road was then in good order. 
All the stragglers, and a considerable portion of the infantry of Hooker's 
command, were marching along the railroad track. The road was some- 
times on one side of the railroad track and sometimes on the other. I 
think the most of the way the road was on both sides of the railroad 
track. The trains of the army were on the road, proceeding eastward, in 
the rear of Hooker's division. But I passed through the trains myself, 
keeping the road all the time. I passed through the trains with a con- 
siderable cavalry escort, bringing with me some twelve or fifteen wagons, 
which got through the trains and arrived at Bristow Station a little after 
d ark. 

Q. How long did it take you yourself to go ? 

A. I think it was about 12 o'clock that 1 started , it might have been 
later than that. I got on the battle-field near Bristow Station perhaps at 



31 



/3y 



6 o'clock. I did not ride directly to the field, I endeavored to bring up 
the stragglers, and I halted for a time where the first skirmish had taken 
place, and looked at the wounded and dead that were there. I did not 
proceed directly through, but delayed considerably on the way. 

Q. Do you knuw at what time of the night of the 2'7th of August the 
accused received your order of that date? 

A. I only know from the report of the aide-de-camp who delivered the 
order. It was reported to me that he delivered the order about filteen 
minutes after 9 o'clock. 

Q. Will you state whether the moon was shining, or whether there was 
a moon at that time ? 

A, I think, as clearly as I can remember, there was no moon ; I am 
quite sure it was not mooulight. 

Q. Try and recollect if, between 11 and 12 o'clock, it was not drizzling 
with rain and very dark? 

A. I slipt on the ground that night, with an overcoat, without any 
shelter whatever. I have no remembrance of any rain at all. 1 slept 
very soundly at that hour of the night, having been up a great deal, and 
a slight drizzle I might, perhaps, have been unconscious of. I have no 
knowledge that there was any. 

Q. In the order of the 27th August, you direct the accused — "Say to 
Banks, also, that he liMd be«t run back the railroad trains to this side of 
Cedar Run." If that was done, what, in your opinion, would be the 
effect upon the condition of the road { 

A. The railroad would, for a considerable space, have been filled with 
standing cars. But Banks was not at Warrenton Junction, and it is not 
at all to be supposed, nor could it have been possible, without doing the 
work in the night, to run the railroad trains back in advance of GenerM 
Porter's movement, nor was it so intended. 

Q. You state that Banks was not at Warrenton Junction ? 

A. He WHS not there when I left Warrenton Junction, and I had had 
no report that he had arrived there. 

Q. In the postscript to that order, you say to the accused — " If Banks 
is not at the junction, instruct Cleary to run the trains back to this side of 
Cedar Run, and post a regiment and section of artillery with it." Are 
you to be understood now as saying that it was not your purpose to have 
that part of the order carried out until the accused had marched with his 
force ? 

A. Yes, sir; it was my purpose to say so. 

Q. Will you state whether, in your opinion, the condition of the roads 
to which you have referred, as they were between 9|- and 1 p. m., was or 
was not such that the accused could have started at 1 o'clock that night, 
and forwarded his whole force, so as to be at the point to which you di- 
rected him to march by daylight in the morning? 

A. As I have previously stated, I have no doubt his infantry could have 
done so. It might be possible that his artillery would have been delayed 
longer. But I considered it his duty, at all events, to have made the 
attempt, 

Q. Did you authorize him in that order, or at any other time, to make 
the march indicated in the order, with his infantry, leaving his artillery 
behind ? 

A. The order specifies in words precisely what I intended. I am not 
aware that it was modified or countermanded in any way whatsoever. 



32 

Q. Did you receive from the accused, after you sent him the order just 
referred to, a note or a messaj^e requesting you to have your end of the 
road cleared, so as to enable the accused to get to you as rapidly or as 
fast as he could with his corps ? 

A. I received at least one such request, probably more than that ; I am 
inclined to think too, one I am sure of to that effect, and 1 sent officers 
back to try and clear the road of wagons, so far as possibly, to facilitate 
his movements as much as I could. 

Q. When you received the message or messages, of which you have 
just spoken, do you know whether the accused was on his march in obe- 
dience to your order of the 27th of August? 

A. I do not kuow that he was. Oji the contrary, from a note that I 
had received from him, I did not understand that he would march until 
daylight in the morning. 

Q. Have you in your possession or can you readily find in this city, 
that note ? 

A. I cannot, as I stated in my evidence yesterday. As the same state- 
ments contained in the note were made to my aid-d«-camp, if other testi- 
mony on that subject is necessary it can be got from him. 

Q. When you received the note, which, according to your recollection, 
stated that he would be unable to march, or would not march, until day- 
light, will you state at what hour you received it ? 

A. I think that in my testimony I stated that it was quite late in the night; 
I do not remember exactly the hour ; I think towards morning, towards 
daylight ; perhaps a little before that. 

Q. Did you take any steps, by message or order in another form, to the 
accused, to expedite his march ? 

A. I sent back several officers to try and see Gen. Porter, and request 
him to hurry up, and report to me where his troops were, as I was very 
apprehensive that after day had dawned we should have an attack upon 
us from the enemy. 

Q. Did said officers return, and if so what report did they make to you ? 

A. I think they all returned. The report made to me was that Gen, 
Porter was coming along very slowly, and was pushing the wagons out of 
the road. 

Q. Have you said that the road was a double one ; the road other than 
the railroad ? 

A. I have said that parts of the way it was so, how far I do not know. 

Q. What do you mean by a " double road ? " 

A. I meant by that merely that there was a track for wagons on each 
side of the railroad ? 

Q. Wagons could go abreast, with the railroad between them ? 

A. Part of the way. 

Q. Do 3'ou know at what time the accused received your order dated 
"Centreville, August 29, 1862 ?" 

A. I do not know at what time he received it. 

Q. Do you recollect, if so state, at what time you sent it ? 

A. As I stated in my testimony yesterday, as far as my remembrance 
goes, it was somewhere between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning. It was 
n)y pi'actice to mark upon every order I issued the precise hour at which 
it was sent. I have not seen the order for a long time; I think there is 
an endorsement at the bottom of the copy of the order, of the time it was 
delivered. My own recollection is that it was sent between 8 and 9 o'clock 
in the morning ; it might have been later than that. 



/3^ 



33 



Q. In the order of the 29th August, you state that you had sent Gen. 
Porter written orders to the effect stated in that order of the 29th, an hour 
and a half before. Will you look at this -paper marked "accused Exhibit 
3," and say if that is the order referred to as having been previously sent ? 

Tlie paper was read, as follov^s : 

Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

Centreville, August 29, 1862. 
Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter; 

Push forward with your corps and Kings division, which you will take 
with you, upon Gainesville. 1 am following the enemy down the Warren- 
ton turnpike. Be expeditious or we will lose much. 

(Signed) JNO. POPE, 

Major General Commanding, 

A. That is the order. 

Q. Was it your purpose, in the last order of which you have spoken, 
the one referred to in the joint order set forth in specification second of 
charge first, to supersede the prior order that you had given the accused ? 

A. It is hardly worth while for the accused, an officer of the army, to 
ask me whether a later order would supersede a previous one. Most un- 
doubtedly he should obey the last order he gets. 

Q. Is this " Accused Exhibit 4," the antecedent order which you in- 
tended to revoke? 

The order was read, as follows : 

Headquarters Army of Virginia, 
Near Bull Bun, August 29, 1862-3 a. m. 
Maj. Gen. Porter, 

General: McDowell has intercepted the retreat of Jackson. Sigel is im- 
mediately on the right of McDowell. Kearney and Hooker march to attack 
the enemy''s rear at early dawn. Maj. Gen. Pope directs you to move upon 
Centreville, at the first dawn of day, with your whole command, leaving 
your trains to follow. It is very important that you should be here at a 
very early hour in the morniug, a severe engagement is likely to take 
place, and your presence is necessary. 

I am, General, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) GEO. D. RUGGLES, 

Colonel and Chief of Staff. 

A. That is the one. 

Q. Did you know, when you issued the order of the 29th August, re- 
ferred to in the order of the same date set out in specification No. 2 of charge 
1, that the accused was then engaged in the execution of the order just 
shown you ? 

A. I did not know that he was, but the order was intended, if he were 
in the execution of that order, to direct his movement in a different direc- 
tion. 

Q. Did you know, when you issued the order of the 29th August, set 
out in the specification referred to, that the accused was then executing 
the one which that states had been given him an hour and a half before ? 

3 



34 

A. I did not know it, as Dr. Abbot had come fi'om General Porter, as 
I understand, to learn If I had any orders for hira. I stated to Dr. Abbot 
that 1 had sent Gen. Porter orders an hour and a half before, and I repeated 
that statement in the order which I sent to Generals Porter and McDowell ; I 
think by Dr. Abbot himself. 

Q. Did you receive from Dr. Abbot a note from the accused, and if so 
can you recollect what, in substance, were the contents of that note ? 

A. I have an indistinct remembrance of receiving a note ; but I do not 
remember the contents at all. My impression is that I got from Dr. 
Abbot himself the information upon which I sent back by him the order 
to General Porter. 

Q. Do you think you have that note with you in "Washington ; and if 
so will you produce it to-morrow ? 

A. I certainly will produce it, if it can possibly be found. I do not 
know whether 1 have it or not. I have a great number of papers. 

Q. Try to recollect if that note gave you information of the position of 
Rickett's and King's commands, and that Sigel and Reynolds would retire, 
and that the accused got that information from McDowell ; as he had re- 
ceived only a verbal order to move on Gainesville, requested that you would 
send him a written order ; and, if so, did you send, by Dr. Abbot or any 
one else, a written order ? 

A. Since the fact of asking for a written order is mentioned, I think 
Gen. Porter did send to request me to send hira a written order, which I 
subsequently sent by Dr. Abbot, having previously, however, an hour and 
a half before, sent him a written order substantially to the same eifect. 

Q. Is the order, to which you last referred in your answer, the order 
mentioned in the joint order of the 25th August, and set forth in Specifi- 
cation 2 to Charge 1 ? 

A. Yes, sir ; that is the order. 

Q. Will you now state whether the joint order of the 29th August, set 
forth in the Specification referred to, was not sent the accused in conse- 
quence of the request of his note ? 

A. I received a note from General McDowell about the time, I think, 
that Dr. Abbot came to me from General Porter, in which General Mc- 
Dowell referred to the order which I had sent to General Porter, to which 
reference is made in the joint order to Generals Porter and McDowell, and 
asked that Kings division may be returned to him, and not assigned to the 
command of General Porter. It was in consideration of General McDow- 
ell's request — and, perhaps, somewhat due to the request for a written order 
that I had received from General Porter ; though I did not remember it 
at the time I answered — that this joint order was written, which relieved 
King's division from service with Porter's corps. 

Q. Was not the purpose of the joint order, of the 29th August, to place 
the entire commands, mentioned in that order, under the command of 
Major General McDowell ? 

A. It was not. 

Q. Was not General McDowell the prior in point of rank to General 
Porter ? 

A. He was the senior. 

Q. Will you state now, as a miliiary man, whether, that being the fact, 
the eff"ect of the joint order of the 29th August was not to place the forces, 
mentioned in that order, under the command of General McDowell? 

A. General McDowell had the authority, as the senior oflicer, to com- 



35 



/S9 



mand the two corps while acting together, and not under the immediate 
orders of the General commanding the army. I did not, however, intend 
at the time that he should do so ; bat that the two corps should act separately 
— though, when they were joined, of course, if General McDowell choose 
to assume the command, he had the right, for the time, to do so. 

Q. Did you communicate to the accused, in writing or by message, that 
the joint order of the 29th August was not to have the effect which, in 
point of law, it was entitled to by its terms ? 

A. No, sir. I made no communication to him on the subject, beyond 
the joint order contained in the Specification. 

Q. Will you state on what road you intended General Porter should 
march to Gainesville, in the execution of your written order referred to in 
the joint order of the 29th August? 

A. I intended him to march on the direct road from Manassas Junction 
to Gainesville. 

Q. Would that road have brought the accused and his command to the 
battle-field at Groveton ? 

A. It would not have brought them on the battle-field at Groveton. 
At the time that order was issued, it was not known exactly where the 
enemy could be brought to a stand. The object of the movement, there- 
fore, was to bring the different corps of the army in such a position that 
they could always assail the enemy at any point between where he was 
then, on the Warrenton turnpike and Gainesville. The Warrentoa turn- 
pike, upon which the enemy was retreating, and the road from Manassas 
Junction to Gainesville, come together at Gainesville. Therefore, in march- 
ing from Manassas Junction to Gainesville, you are all the time approach- 
ing the Warrenton turnpike. f 

At this stage of the examination, 

The Court adjourned to 11 a. m., to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 

December 6, 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major Geneal D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Rufus King, " 

f* B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" N. B. Buford, ^' 

J.P.Slough, " 

and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 
The minutes of the proceeding session were read and approved. 

The Judge Advocate here mentioned to the Court that gross inaccu- 
racies, in the publication of the testimony given before this Court by 
Maj. Gen. Pope, had been brought to his notice as having occurred in 
several newspapers. 



36 

Whereupon the Court was cleared. 

After some time the Court was reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced that, in view of the statement made 
by tlie Judge Advocate, the Court desire the President of the Court to 
caution reporters that it' incorrect reports of evidence and proceedings in 
this Court continue to appear in the public press the Court may find it 
necessary to take such action as will correct the above. 

The President thereupon accordingly cautioned those reporters who 
were present. 

The examination of Maj. Gen. John Pope was then resumed by the 
accused as follows : 

Q. Will you state, as accurately as you can, in what particular the ac- 
cused failed to carry out your joint order of the 29th of August ? 

A. I can only state the facts from the reports of others, as I did not 
myself see the accused during the 29th of August; nor did I know of his 
exact position on that day until it was reported to me by my aide-de- 
camp, quite late in the evening, when he returned from the delivery of the 
order to him. 

Q. Will you state, as accurately as you can recollect, from [the infor- 
mation that you have received up to the present time, from any quarter, 
in what particular or particulars the accused failed to carry out that joint 
order ? 

A. I have stated that the accused had failed, in my opinion, to carry 
out that order, first because I believed that if he had attacked the enemy 
on the liank, as he was directed, I should have known it, being myself on 
the field of battle, and near to the front. In relation to the joint order 
of the 29th I have Gen. Porter's note to Generals McDowell and King, 
in which he himself states that he has not fully obliged that joint order 
of the 29th of August. 

The Judge Advocate produced and read a paper as follows : 

Gens. McDowell and King : 

I found it impossible to communicate by crossing the roads to Grove- 
ton. The enemy are in strong force on this road ; and, as they appear to 
have driven our forces back, the firing of enemy having advanced and 
ours retired, I have determined to withdraw to Manassas, I have at- 
tempted to communicate with McDowell and Sigel, but my messengers 
have run into the enemy. They have gathered artillery and cavalry and 
infantry, and the advancing masses of dust show the enemy coming in 
force. I am now going to the head of the column to see what is passing 
and how affairs are going. Had you not better send your train back ? 

(Signed) F. J. PORTER, 

Brig. Gen. 

I will communicate with you. 

Q. By the Judge Advocate : Is this the note of the accused to which 
you refer? 

A. That is the note. 

By the Accused. 

Q. Will you state on what day, and at what hour of the day, you re- 
ceived the note just read ? 

A. I received it ou the night of the 29th of August; I think between 
7 and 8 o'clock in the evening. 



37 /-^^ 

Q. Did you, after that time, and after the receipt of that note, receive 
another note from the accused ; and, if so, have you that other note ? 

A. I do not remember to have received another note ; I certainly have 
not got it anywhere amongst my papers. 

Q. Ilaveyou any recollection now, without looking at the paper, that 
you admit in your official report the reception of that other note? 

A. No, sir; I have not ; the note to which I refer in my official report 
was the note to Generals McDowell and King, which I received. That 
note, as I understand, was brought direct to me, and not delivered to Gen. 
McDowell ; and, so far as I understand, not to Gen. King. 

Q. If you did ^not receive another note, did you receive information 
from the accused as to his position, after the reception of the note which 
has beeo produced? 

A. The only information that I remember to have received of the posi- 
tion of the accused I received from Gen. McDowell when he arrived on 
the field, and from my aide-de-camp, who reported his position when he 
returned from delivering him the order dated at half-past four in the after- 
noon, I do not remember to have received any other information. 

Q. Recollect, if you can, whether you received a note by the hands of 
one of your own aides, after the reception of the first note, stating that 
the accused was there in position, and could hold it, and perhaps attack, 
if strengthened by the division you had taken from him — King's division 
—or another ? 

A. I do not remember to have received a note ; but I remember that 
my aide-de-camp told me that Gen. Porter stated to him — or in his hear- 
ing, perhaps, sent me word — I am not quite sure about that — that if he 
had King's division he could make a dash, or something of that kind. 
Whether it came in a note, or by word of mouth, I am not clear; I rather 
think it was brought to me by the aide de-camp, as near as I can remem- 
ber, who carried my order to Gen. Porter. 

Q. If you have the note with you produce it. 

A. Certainly, if I have it. This suggestion of Gen. Porter, whether 
oval or in writing, made no impression upon me, because King's division 
was at that time, or about that time, engaged in an action with the ene- 
my in our immediate front ; and there were no troops to spare that could 
be sent to Gen. Porter. lu fact, I thought he already had force sufficient 
to have accomplished during the day the purpose implied in the order of 
half-past four o'clock. 

Q. Was Morell's division a part of the command of the accused ? 

A. Yes, sir ; it was a part of his army corps which I presumed to be 
with him. 

Q. Recollect, if you can, whether you received from the accused infor- 
mation, orally or in writing, that Morell was there when the note was 
written, or the information sent from, ready to engage the enemy? 

A. I do not remember to have received that information, though, in 
sending the order at half-past four o'clock, I presumed that Gen. Porter 
was ready with his whole corps to engage the enemy. 

Q. Where, if you recollect, did you suppose the accused with his com- 
mand was when you issued your order to him of the 29th of August, at 
4.30 p.m.? 

A. I supposed him to be somewhere on the road between Manassas 
Junction and Gainesville, and by that time far advanced towards Gaines- 
ville on that road. 



38 

Q. Would the accused, by obeying the joint order of tbe 29t]i of August, 
have been brought up in front of the enemy at 4-J o'clock of that evening; 
and, if so, at what point of the evening's time ? 

A. As I have stated in my testimony, when that joint order was issued, 
I was not certain at what point, if at any, of the Warrenton turnpike 
east of Gainesville the enemy could be brought to a stand. The joint 
movement of McDowell and Porter was, therefore, made so as to intersect 
the Warrenton turnpike at Gainesville, and, being on a road which con- 
stantly converges toward the Warrenton turnpike, those two corps would 
have been near enough to the turnpike, in case the enemy were brought 
to a stand at any point of it, to be brought on the field within a short 
time, I could not tell, of course, at the time that order was issued — not 
knowing where the enemy would be brought to a stand, or whether he 
would be brought to a stand or not — whether the forces of McDowell and 
Porter would come up in his front or on his flank. 

Q. Do you know now where, in point of fact, the accused was with his 
command, in whole, or in part, at 4^ p. m. of the 29th August, and where 
the enemy nearest to him at that time were. 

A. Of my own knowledge I do not. 

Q. Without knowing the relative position of the forces under the com- 
mand of the accused and of the enemy at 4.30 p. m. of the 29th of Au- 
gust, how could you have been certain, if you were, that it would be in 
the power of the accused to turn the eneruy's right flank? 

A. I knew the position of the enemy, who occupied a line perpendicu- 
lar to the Warrenton turnpike, and at or near the town of Groveton. I 
was sure, from the orders I had given him, that General Porter must be 
somewhere between Manassas Junction and Gainesville, on the road to 
Gainesville. So far, I knew within certain limits, though not exactly, the 
relative positions of General Porter and of the enemy. My belief was 
that the road from Manassas Junction to Gainesville, either passed by the 
right flank, or was occupied by that flank of the enemy ; and that Porter's 
march, if formed, conducted him either to the right flank of the enemy, or 
past the right flank of the enemy, towards his rear. 

Q. Will you point out upon the map produced by the prosecution — 
marked "Government; exhibit A" — the positions, as you now under- 
stand, held by the accused with his command, and by the enemy, at 4.30 
p. m., of the 29th August? 

A. I have stated that I did not know the exact position of the accused, 
beyond the fact that I felt sure, from the orders I had given him, that he 
was somewhere between Manassas Junction and Gainesville, on the direct 
road to Gainesville. His exact position on that road, as 1 said before, I 
do not know. 

Q. Then you cannot point it out? 

A. I do not know exactly where it was. I can point out somewhere 
between Manassas Junction and Gainesville. 

Q. Point out as accurately as you can. 

A. (Referring to the map.) I caa only say that he was somewhere be- 
tween these two points, on that road, where I cannot say. From my orders 
to General Porter, he ought to have been somewhere between Manassas 
Junction and the town of Gainesville, on the direct road. As I under- 
stand, the road runs alung the railroad, although I am not clear about 
that, as I have never been over it. What I mean by the direct road, is 



the main traveled road from Manassas Junction to Gainesvillle, which I 
understand to be along, or very nearly along, the railroad. 

Q. State generally where you supposed the accused to have been? 

A. I have no supposition about it, except that I suppose he was some- 
where between Manassas Junction and Gainesville. The enemy in front of 
us — their left, as far as we could ascertain is, was in these woods here, (re- 
ferring to the map,) extending along, perhaps, towards Sudley Springs; 
but they were massed in these woods, along an old railroad grade, and 
they had batteries which extended along a crest of hills, across the War- 
renton turnpike, and their troops extended into the woods south of that 
road ; how far their right extended, I do not know. 

Q. Did you know at that time, or do you know now, whether at that 
time — 4.30 p. m., August 29, or about that time — Longstreet's corps, in 
whole or in part, had joined, or where joining Jackson ? 

A. I had feared the junction of those corps at any moment, as I knew, 
from information, that Longstreet was pushing forward to join Jackson. 
I therefore expected that movement of Longstreet, certainly, during the 
afternoon of the 29th. General Buford, with his cavalry, was in that di- 
rection, and I knew that he was watching ior that movement, and ex- 
pected him to report as soon as he could ascertain anything about it. At 
4|- o'clock I had not received any report from him. He (General Buford,) 
was at that time under the command of General McDowell. 

Q. Did you know then, or do you now know, what line of march Long- 
street's corps was taking to unite with Jackson ; and if you do, state wheth- 
er that would not have carried that corps to the right of Jackson's line, 
as you have marked it on the map ? 

A. I expected that Longstreet — and understand now that a part of Long- 
street's corps, at least, passing through Gainesville, did so — would seek to 
join Jackson by the Warrenton turnpike. According to my understand- 
ing of his position then, that would have brought Longstreet to the centre 
of Jackson's line, as we understand it ; though it was easy, as I supposed 
— though I have not been over the ground — at any point between Gaines- 
ville and Groveton, to have changed the course of his column, or a part 
of it, so as to have brought them in on the right or the left of Jackson, as 
they thought proper. 

Q. If, in fact, the corps of Longstreet formed on the right of Jackson, 
what distance of march would the accused have been compelled to have 
made to carry out the order of 4.30 p. m., of the 29th of August, vfhioh 
was, "to push forward into action at once on the enemy's flank, and 
if possible, on his rear " ? 

A. As I did not know the position of General Porter, on the road from 
Manassas Junction to Gainesville, at the time I wrote that order, it is im- 
possible for me to state how far he would have had to go. 

Q. That, perhaps, is not an answer to the question. The accused de- 
sires you to state, if you can, whether — assuming that Longstreet's corps 
had united on the right of Jackson's line — from what you now know or 
understand was the actual position of the accused and his command, at 
4.30 p. m., on the 29th of August, what distance of march would he have 
had to have made in order to strike the enemy on the flank or in the rear? ' 

A. In the fir-^t place, I do not assume that, at 4|- o'clock, Longstreet 
was on Jackson's right. The accused requires me to assume certain facts. 

Q. I assume them. 

A. Very well ; then I will say further— that unless I could know how 



40 

the command of Longstreet was formed, what his position for battle he 
had made on Jackson's right, it is impossible for me to tell how much 
ground he would have occupied; theiefore, I cannot say where his right 
would have rested, even if Longstreet had been there. I cannot say, there- 
fore, how far General Porter would have been required to march ; the dis- 
tance, certainly, would have been much less than the distance from Ma- 
nassas Junction to Gainesville. 

Q. Then, without knowing the facts — which, in your preceding answer, 
you state you did not know at the time when the order of 4,30 p. m., 
of the 29th August, was given — how could you then have known whether 
it would or would not be in the power of the accused to strike the enemy 
in tiauk and rear ? 

A. If the accused will state to the Court what facts he says I am igno- 
rant of, I may be able to answer that question. The question sets out that 
I was ignorant of certain facts; I should like to know what they are. It 
is said that I have stated myself to be ignorant of ceriain facts. Who 
states those facts, and what are those facts? And I will stite further that, 
in my previous answer, I declined to assume that Longstreet was then on 
Jackson's right, at 4.30 p. m. I am giving an answer only on tlie assum- 
tion of the accused that Longstreet was there, which is not a fact stated or 
proved. 

Q. Without knowing that Longstreet's command was formed, or would 
be formed, or without knowing wiif;t disposition for battle be had made, 
or might make, on Jackson's right, how did you certainly know, when you 
issued the order of 4.30 p. m., of the 29th August, to attack the enemy in 
flank and rear, that that order could be carried out by the accused ? 

A. The accused was expected to attack, if possible — and as I under- 
stand to be practicable — the right flank of Jackson's forces, and, if possi- 
ble, the rear of his forces — to prevent, if it were practicable, the junction 
of Longstreet's forces with Jackson's, and to crush Jackson's flank before 
Longstreet could efTect a junction with him. I did not then believe, nor 
do I now believe, that at that time any considerable portion of Long- 
street's corps had reached the vicinity of the field. 

Q. How long did you su^ipose, when you issued the order of 4.30 p. ra., 
it would take to place it in possession of the accused ? 

A. I did not then know precisely, or even nearly, at what point of the 
road from Manassas Junction to Gainesville the accused could be found. 
I could not tell, except within limits, how long it would take to deliver 
him the order; but I know that an aide-de-camp, riding rapidly, could go 
from the field of battle to Manassas Junction, or to any point west of Ma- 
nassas Junction on the Gainesville road, if he found General Porter in ad- 
vance of Monassas Junction, within an hour, by going at speed. 

Q. Do you know whether, at 5.30 p. m., or between that hour and 7 
o'clock, the accused had the enemy immediately in his front? 

A. I do not know it, except from the reports of others — though I would 
think it altogether likely that Jackson would have pushed out some force 
to obscure the road between Gainesville and Manassas Junction. It is al- 
together likely, therefore, that some of Jackson's troops were in presence 
of General Porter's advance, though, of my own knowledge, I do not know 
that. 

Q. Will you point out, if you can, upon the map the position of each 
of the corps, other than that of the one under the command of the accused, 
at 4.30 p. ra., August 29th ? 



41 



A/?. 



A. There is no difficulty in telling the position of the other corps of 
the army, with the exception of McDowell's, which had not then reached 
the field, but was on the march from Manassas Junction. Our troops con- 
fronted the line of the enemy, as represented there, with Heiutzelman's 
corps on the right, consisting of Kearney's and Hooker's divisions ; a part 
of lleno's corps, with the whole of Sigel's coips, in the centre; on the 
left, the Pennsylvania Reserves, under Reynolds, with four regiments of 
Reno's corps, held in reserve, near the Warrenton turnpike, and in rear 
of the centre of the line. General McDowell's corps had not, at that time, 
reached the field, but was understood to be on the Sudley Spring road, 
from Manaasas Junction, which passes through Groveton. I myself occu- 
pied the hill immediately in rear of the centre of our line, immediately 
east of the Sudly Spring road, and north of the Warrenton turnpike. 
Immediately in front of me, was the reserve of Reno's command. 

Q, State if you can, whether the line of McDowell's march, that he 
made under the joint order of the 29th August, and which took him to 
Groveton, did not necessarily carry him to the rear of the column of the 
accused, and make him march in that direction past the line of the 
accused ? 

A. I understood from Gen. McDowell, subsequently, that Gen. Porter, 
with his corps was a little in advance towards Gainesville, a little west of 
the junction of the woods leading to Gainesville and Groveton, and that 
McDowell's corps had passed him whilst there, taking the Sudley Spring 
road instead of the Gainesville road, and passing of course in the rear of 
Gen. Porter's column. That is what I understood from reports. 

Q. If Gen. McDowell's statement was accurate as to the position of the 
corps of the accused, was not the accused at that time on the road which 
he was directed to take by the joint order of the 29th August ? 

A. Certainly I so understood it, but that he was at a halt when 
McDowell passed him. 

Q. Are you now unable to say that you were informed or knew at 7 
o'clock p. m. on the 29th of August, that Long-street's corps was up with 
Jackson in force ? 

A. By seven o'clock in the evening, I knew from the report of Gen, 
Buford, that a portion of Longstreet's force — numbering perhaps one-half 
the force under Gen. Porter, certainly not more than iwo-thiids, as Gen. 
Buford estimated it — had passed through Gainesville, and by that time, in 
all probability, had joined Jackson. The report of Gen. Buford was in 
writing. He states the number of battalions, peices of artillery I think, 
and the cavalry which passed through Gainesville, according to his obser- 
vation. That information came to me quite late in the evening ; certainly 
by Y o'clock I think. 

The question put by the accused seems to imply that I have previously 
stated, somewhere in my testimony, that I did not know at 7 o'clock in 
the evening, that portions of Longstreet's force had joined Jackson. I 
have nowhere so stated. 

Q. That was not the purpose of the question. 

A. The question, as I submit to the Court, is written, as many other 
questions have been to which I have objected, on account of their making 
me appear to have made statements which 1 have not made. The ques- 
tion, after going on with a great deal of testimony, is put iu this way — 

" Are you now unable to say," as if I had previously stated differently. 



42 

Q. State in what particular the accused failed to obey the order of 
8.50 P. M. of the 29th August, which order was, 

Major General Porter, 

General: Immediately upon receipt of this order, the precise hour of which 
you will acknowledge, you will march your command to the field of battle of 
to-day, and report to me in person for orders. You are to understand that 
you are expected to comply strictly with this order, and to be present on 
the field within three hours after its reception, or after daybreak to-morrow 
morning. 

It is signed by the witness. 

A. I thought that he failed to obey the order entirely, because two 
brigades of his command were not only not brought up with him, but by 
some means had either straggled, or been permitted to straggle from the 
command, and were in Centreville. 

Q. Do you mean to say that because two brigades referred to were in 
Centreville, the accused entirely neglected to obey the order ? 

A. I presume that is a matter for the Court to decide. My own 
answer to that would be a mere opinion upon the subject. That is exactly 
a question for the Court to decide. 

Q. State in what, if to any extent, the accused did obey that order or 
carry it out ? 

A. The accused appeared upon the field on Saturday morning, the 30th 
of August, with his command, excepting so far as I am informed, the two 
brigades specified. 

Q. At what hour of the morning did he appear with his command? 

A. I do not know at what hour of the morning precisely. But it was 
somewhere between 8 and 10 o'clock, I should think ; perhaps earlier than 
10 o'clock; perhaps 8 o'clock. I know I made no objections in conse- 
quence of the hour that he arrived there. 

Q, State now as a military man, if the two brigades belonging to the 
corps of the accused had left his command without his knowledge, and 
had gone to Centreville in opposition to instructions, whether his failing to 
bring up those two brigades with the rest of his command, on the morn- 
ing of the 30ih of August, as you have stated he did, and was in your 
judgment a disobedience of the order. 

The question was objected to by a member of the Court, as the answer 
of the witness would be a mere opinion. 

The accused stated that he had asked the question under what he had 
supposed to be a former ruling of the Court, but he acquiesced in the 
objection. 

Q. At the time of the day, on Saturday, the SOth of August, did the 
battle of that day commence ? 

A. There was more or less skirmishing all the time, but the main battle 
commenced, I should think, about 12 o'clock; perhaps after that. 

Q. Was the accused with his command so far as he had it on that 
morning in that battle ? 

A. A portion of his command was in the battle under his orders. His 
position in reference to them I did not myself know. 

Q. Will you state what was the extent of his force in that battle, if you 
can ? 

A. I cannot state it exactly, but I can state, I suppose, something like it 
approximately. 



43 , ^ ^ 

q. State it. 

A. The brigade of Griffin and the brigade of Piatt were absent from 
the field, which I suppose reduced his force between 5,000 and 6,000 
men. I presume, therefore, that he had in the battle not to exceed 7,000 
men of his own corps with him on the ground. Perhaps he had not so 
many as that, but that is my estimate of the number. In addition to that 
he had, however, at that time. King's division operating with him under 
his command. 

Q. State if you can the number of his killed and wounded upon that 
occasion ? 

A. I have not received any report of the killed and wounded from him. 
But a day or two ago, since my arrival here, there were lists of killed and 
wounded sent, I think, by Sykes and Morell, who commanded the division 
of his corps. I have not, however, yet examined them. 

The accused here announced his examination closed, 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 A. M. on Monday next. 



Washington, D. C, December 8, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present. 

Major General D. Hunter TJ. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Ptufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

«♦ Silas Casey, " ,.^ 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, " 
J. P. Slough, 
Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The accused asked permission to further examine the witness, Major 
General Pope, upon some points he had omitted on Saturday last. 

Permission was accordingly granted. 

The examination of Major General John Pope was then resumed, as 
follows, by the accused : 

Q. What is the distance between Gainsville and Jackson's right, as it 
stood at 4.30 p. m. of the 29th of August? 

A. I should think, not to exceed six miles. 

Q. At what hour, as reported by Gen. Buford, did Longstreet pass 
through Gainsvile on that day? 

A. As I remember Gen. Buford's dispatch — I have not seen it, or rather 
not read it since — I do not remember that he reported Longstreet to have 
passed through at all, but that he reported a certain portion of Long-street's 
forces, which he designated, to have passed through Gainesville. At what 
hour I do not now remember. 

Q. How long time would it take for Long-street's force, after leaving 
Gainseville, to reach that point of the road where the line of the march of 
the accused would strike the road from Manassas Junction to Gainesville ? 



44 

A. That I cannot tell. As I understand, the road frona Manassas Junc- 
tion to Gainesville intersects the Warrenton turnpike east of Gainesville per- 
haps a mile or two, though I have never myself been over the road. 

Q. How long time would be required for the force of Longstreet, after 
leaving Gainsville, to reach the point where Jackson's right stood at 4.30 
p. m. on that day ? 

A. Jackson's right, as I uuneistood it to be, was about five or six miles 
east of Gainsville. I cannot tell how long it would take, because I do not 
know how fast Longstreet's troops marched. The Court can judge of that 
as well as I can. I had not been over the road. It was a turnpike road — 
a macadamized road, run in places east of that joint, when I j)assed over 
it. I had not myself been over it as far as Gainesville. 

Q. Supposing, then, Longstreet's forces to have passed through Gains- 
ville as early as one o'clock in the day, they would have had more than 
ample time to arrive on Jackson's right at 4.30 p. m.? 

A. According to my opinion as to the capacity of troops for marching, 
they would have had more than time. But such is not my experience of 
the divisions of the army in Virginia. 

Q. Is it not the general fact, that the rebel army in Virginia, at this 
period of time, was understood usually to march with rapidity, and with- 
out much encumbrance in the way of trains or other causes ? 

A. I suppose that to be the popular belief. I do not know it to be the 
fact? 

Q. At what time did the battle of the 29th of August begin, during 
what period did it continue, and at what hour did it substantially cease ? 

A. The skirmishing commenced along the Warrenton turnpike quite 
early in the morning, the exact hour I cannot say, but it was, I should 
think, not very long after daylight that I first began to hear the guns. It 
continued, with more or less interraissson, until sometime after dark on the 
29th, perhaps 8 o'clock. The precise hour, of course, I cannot designate. 

Q. About what time did the infantry combat cease on that day ? 

A. The infantry combat was the last — the last firing, I think, was done 
by the infantry. There may, perhaps, have been artillery firing about the 
same time, but if so, at long range. 

Q. What did you understand the strength of Jackson, in front of you, 
to have been at 4.30 p. ra. on that day? 

A. Of course, in making a statement of that kind, I am only guided by 
the information — more or less uncertain and unreliable — which we had 
received at various times. I myself estimated his force to be about 25,000 
men, or between that and 30,000 — 25,000 was the lowest estimatt; I made 
of his force. 

Q. Bearing in mind the terms and tenor of the order of 4.30 p. m. of 
the 29th of August, and its direction to the accused to attack the enemy's 
flank, and, if possible, his rear, and at the same time to keep up commu- 
nication with Gen. Reynolds, on the right of the accused, please to inform 
the Court whether, if it could have been foreseen at 4.30 p. m. that at the 
time when the accused should receive that order he would find himself in 
front of the enemy in large force — in such a position that he could not 
outflank the enemy without severing his connection with Gen. Reynolds 
on his right — would you, if that state of facts had been foreseen at the 
date of the reception uf the order, have expected or auticij^ated obedience 
from the accused to the order according to its terms ? 



The question was objected to by a member of the Court as mere 
opinion. 

The accused stated : that the accused is charged with disobedience to 
the order in question. It is deemed' by the accused most material for him 
to show that a state of facts existed at the time of his reception of the or- 
der such as to prechade a reasonable expectation, on the part even of the 
oiBcers who issued the order, of its being executed by him at that time 
according to its terms. It is respectfully submitted by the accused, that 
this is not opinion in regard to which the witness -is asked as au expert. 
The question is supposed to have a substantial justice and equity in itself, 
as going to the justification of the accused in any failure to comply with 
the order which he may have exhibited. 

But if there should be further and positive ruling or precedent of evi- 
dence desired by the Court, in order to warrant the admission of the ques- 
tion, the accused then respectfully submits that this witness has already 
been understood to testify that on the 2d September, the witness then 
having in view all these operations, did not regard the accused as guilty 
of purposed and intentional criminality and delinquency. Now, it is ob- 
vious that a negative answer to the question now submitted will be most 
important fortification of that opinion. 

It should be added by the accused, that the Judge Advocate, with the 
sanction of the Court, has repeatedly asked this witness, as the author of 
the order, whether he did or did not consider that certain action of the 
accused amounted to a disobedience of this order. We humbly conceive 
that precisely the same rule of examination would admit this question. 

The Member of the Court (objecting) said : It is proper for the accused 
to show the facts, and then the Court would determine what shall be 
their determination upon those facts. But upon that determination, the 
opinion of this witness can have no bearing one way of the other. 

The Court was then cleared. 

After some time the Court was reopened, whereupon 

The Judge Advocate announced the decision of the Court to be that 
the witness shall not answer the question propounded by the accused. 

The Accused then said : With the permission of the Court, the ac- 
cused will now propound the question in a different form, so as to present 
more exactly upon the record the principle of its exclusion. 

The President of the Court stated that the question referred to mat- 
ters which could be made use of by the accused in his defence, but under 
the ruling of the Court, the question could not be propounded to this wit- 
ness. 

Examination continued by the accused : 

Q. Will the witness inform the Court how many interviews he had 
with the accused between the morning of the 27th of August and the 
morning of the 29th of August? 

A. I saw the accused several times on the morning of the 27th of Au- 
gust at Warrenton Junction. I also saw hira on the 28th, when he came 
up at Bristow Station. From that time until the the morning of the 30th 
I did not see him at all. 

Q. Docs the witness recollect the hour at which the accused acknowl- 
edged the receipt of the order of 8.50 p. m. of the 29Lh of August ? 



46 

A. I do not remember to have received an acknowledgment at all of 
the reception of that order, except the acknowledgment made by the ac- 
cused himself in appearing upon the field of battle the next morning. 

The examination by the accused was here closed. 

Examination resumed by the Judge Advocate : 

Q. In referring to the conversation which you had with the accused at 
Fairfax Court-house, you stated, in effect, that you said to him, among the 
causes of complaint which you had against him was, that he was under- 
stood to have written a despatch or letter to General Burnside severely 
criticising your campaign before he had had an opportunity of under- 
standing it at all, and just as he was on the point of joining your com- 
mand. Will you state precisely when he did join your command? 

A. He joined my command at Warrenton Junction on the morning of 
the 27th of August. He had reported to me, I think, by note before he 
caine up to Warrenton Junction ; I do not now remember from what 
point, but somewhere quite near. His command joined our forces and 
reported to me personally at Warrenton Juuction on the morning of the 
27 th of August. 

Q. He, with his command, had prior to that time belonged to the army 
of the Potomac, under General McClellan, had they not? 

A. I so understood. 

Q. From the morning of the 27th of August, when he joined your com- 
mand, until the close of the military operations spoken of in the charges 
and specifications, and to which you have deposed, he was your sub- 
ordinate oflicer and subject to your commands, was he not? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. In one of your answers to the questions of the accused you stated 
that you received from General Porter a request to clear away or open 
your end of the road ; can you state at what time you received that 
request ? 

A. I think I received the request once or twice ; my impression is twice. 
But I think in the note which he wrote me, and which I have spoken of 
and which I received towards daylight in the morning of the 28th, he 
made that request. I think it was at that time that I first received it. 

Q. Did I not understand you to say that request was complied with ? 

A. Yes, sir. I sent several officers. 

Q. Am I right in understanding you to have stated distinctly that the 
joint order to Generals McDowell and Porter given on the morning of the 
29th was designed not to place the one in subordination to the other, but 
that they should operate independently of each other — each one in sub- 
ordination to yourself? 

A. I so intended. 

The accused objected to the question and answer as involving merely 
the opiuion of the witness. 

The Judge Advocate stated that the question was put merely to make 
certain and definite what the witness had previously stated in answer to 
the question of the accused. 

That portion of the examination of the witness by the accused was then 
read. 

Whereupon the accused withdrew his objection. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate was here closed. 



47 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. Do you know in what order the commands of Generals McDowell 
and Porter left Manassas Junction on the morning of the 29th of August, 
in obedience to your joint order of that date ? 

A. I do not know from my own knowledge, but from the reports of 
others. 

Q. Did they take the same round ? 

A. know that in the same way, from the reports of others, but not from 
my own knowledge. 

Q. What were the relative distances they had to march in order to 
engage the enemy ? 

A. I should suppose, without being certain of the fact, that they had 
about the same distance ; that is, considering the distance Gen. McDowell 
had to march from Manassas Junction to Groveton. I think, perhaps, 
General Potter's corps would not have had to march so far. 

Q. Where was General Porter's corps at the time he addressed the note 
to Generals McDowell and King, of which you have testified ? 

A. I do not know. The note to Generals McDowell and King did not 
state. I can only give the same general answer that I have done before, 
that he was somewhere between Manassas Junction and Gainesville. 

Q. Where was General Porter's corps on or about 6 o'clock p. m. of 
the 29th of August? 

A. That, also, I cannot tell, except from the report of my aid-de-carap, 
who reported his position at about 5 o'clock. Whether he moved from 
that position or not was not I'eported to me, nor do I know. 

Q. State the position he was in at about 5 o'clock, as reported to you. 

A. He was at the forks of the road west of Manassas Junction. I mean 
the forks of the road leading to Gainesville and Groveton ; perhaps two 
miles west of Manassas Junction. 

Q. Did or did not General Porter engage the enemy on the 29th of 
August; and if not, was it or not in violation of your orders ? 

The latter part of the question was objected to by a member of the 
Court. 

The Court was then cleared. 

After sometime the Court was reopened, ^vhereupon — 

The Judge Advocate announced that the Court had decided to put the 
question in this form : 

Q. Did or did not General Porter engage the enemy on the 29th of 
August ? 

A. I do not know of my own knowledge that he did so. I think if be 
had done so I should have known it, before reflection. Since I gave testi- 
mony here a day or two ago, I recollect a circumstance which then did 
not occur to me, and which I will state here : I heard two or three pieces 
of artillery — perhaps as many as three shots, I think, however, only two — 
fired towards the right of Jackson's line, I think about 2 o'clock p. m. of 
the 29th of August. Whether the firing was done by the enemy or by 
some of our own people I did not then know, and do not now know if 
any considerable engagement had occurred in that direction. I think I 
could not have failed to have known it, as I was along the front of the 
line several times during the day, and coitainly could have heard anything 
like a severe action occurring anywhere on the road from Manass^as Junc- 
tion to Gainesville. 



4S 

Q. At what hour did General Porter put his forces in motion on the 
morning of the 28th of August, in the direction of Bristow Station? 

A. I do not know except from the reports of others. 

Q. At what time on the morning of the 29th was the joint order to 
Generals McDowell and Porter given ? 

A. I have endeavoured in my previous testimony to state it as nearly 
as 1 can recollect. My remembrance then was that it was between 8 and 
9 o'clock. It may, perhaps, have been somewhat later, though not much. 

Q. You mentioned that in going from Warrenton Junction towards 
Bristow Station, on the morning of the 27th of August, you saw many 
stragglers of Hooker's command on the railroad ; were they or not in 
sufficient numbers to have impeded the march of infantry along the 
track ? 

A. Shortly after I started east from Warrenton Junction we came upon 
the railroad again, just east of Cedar Run. And from that time until we 
reached Bristow Station the road was lined with stragglers from Hooker's 
division. Those stragglers commenced singly, then two or three together, 
then half a dozen, until we had got three or four or five miles from War- 
renton Junction towards the east, when they began to be in bodies of 40, 
50, and 100 together, marching along the raih'oad track, I should think 
I saw not less than 1,500 men on the railroad going eastward between 
Warrenton Junction and Bristow Station, I think the most of them had 
gotten up to their command at Bristow Station during the night, though 
I continued to see small bodies of them coming along the railroad track 
on the morning of the 28th of August, They occupied the whole track 
during the day of the 27th as we were going eastward; but all of them, 
or the larger portion of them, got to Bristow Station during the night of 
the 27th of August. 

Q. Were there, to your knowledge, any openings in the track, such as 
to have made it dangerous for infantry to march along said track at 
night ? 

A. Along the road between Warrenton Junction to Kettle Ptun, which 
is perhaps 3 miles west from Bristow Station, the track had been torn up 
in places. But during the day of the 27th of August I directed Captain 
Merrill, of the Engineers, with a considerable force, to repair the track up 
to the bridge over Kettle Run, which had been burned. He reported to 
me, on the night of the 27th, that he had done so; so that from Warren- 
ton Junction to the bridge over Kettle Run there was no obstruction on 
the railroad of any description. The bridge at Kettle Run had been 
burned but a hundred yards above the bridge the road crossed the creek 
by a ford. And from there towards Bristow the most of the country, in 
fact neaily the whole of it, was open country ; that is, as I remember the 
countiy riding along on the afternoon of the 29th of August. 

Q. What was the strengLh of your whole command in front of Jackson, 
independent of General Porter's corps, on the 27th of August? 

A. I cannot tell with exactness; since in the active operations, where 
we were fighting almost every day, I had received no reports of casualties, 
either in killed, wounded, or stragglers. I can give, I suppose, something 
like an approximation to it. I think that until half-past five or six in the 
afternoon of the 29th, when McDowell's command arrived on the field, 
our whole force amounted to about 24,000 or 25,000 men, independently 
if McDowell's and Porter's corps. That may be an over estimate, prob- 
ably is an over estimate, from the fact which I have stated, that I did not 



Slave any reports of casualties, either in killed, wounded, and stragglers, 
and the stragglers formed an exceedingly large part of those absent from 
every action. 

Q. You have given an estimate of the force of Jackson. Did you in- 
clude, in that estimate, the force of Longstreet ? 

A, I did not. 

Q. What was the strength of McDowell's corps on the 29th August ? 

A, As with the others, I had received no reports from McDowell's corps. 
I estimated, however, the fighting force that McDowell brought on the 
field, at about 1 2,000 men. It may have have exceeded that, or it may have 
been less. That is a mere c&timate in the absence of any reports of casu- 
alties or stragglers from that corps for two weeks previous, during wliich 
time we had been almost constantly marching and fighting the enemy, 
and during which period there was no time to rcake out returns, 

Q. Can you give an estimate of the force of Longstreet at tbat time ? 

A. There were various accounts of Longslreet's forces. According to 
' my own belief, derived from these various sources of information, I think 
Longstreet had perhaps 17,000 men — from that up to 20,000 — thouo-h of 
course such estimate is not very reliable. 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

Capt. Drake De Kay was then called by the Government, sworn and 
examined as fuUows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state what position you hold in the military service ? 

A. First Lieutenant of the 14th lufantry. 

Q. What position did you hold during the campaign of the Army of 
Virginia, under the command of Gen. Pope ? 

A. Aide-de-camp to Gen. Pope. 

Q. Did you, or not, on the 27th of August last, bear a written order 
from Maj. Gen. Pope to Maj. Gen. Porter, who was then, I beheve, at 
Warren ton Junction ? 

A. I did. 

Q. Do you remember distinctly the character of that order, and would 
you be able to recognize it again, upon having it read to you ? 

A. I did not read it. 

Q. Did you, or not, after its delivery to Gen. Porter, learn from him its 
character ? 

A. I was aware of its character, by word of mouth, either from Gen. 
Pope or from his Chief of Staff. 

Q. Will you state its character, as you understood it ? 

A. That he was to proceed at one o'clock that night to move up to 
Bristow Station with his command. 

Q. Do you mean at one o'clock on the morning of the 28th of Auo-ust? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. At what hour, of the 27th of August, did you deliver this order to 
Gen, Porter % 

A. Between 9 o'clock and half past 9 p. m. I think about half past 
9, I could not say within a half an hour. 

Q. Had you any conversation with Gen. Porter at the time, in relation 
to the order, or the execution of the order by him % 

A. Yes, sir ; some conversation. 

4 



50 

Q. Will you please state it as far as you can recollect it ? 

A. I arrived, as 1 have said, about half past 9 o'clock at his tent, and 
found Gen. Porter and two or three Generals there — Gen. Sykes and Gen. 
Moreil, and I think Gen. Butterfield, thoup;h I am not sure whether li© 
came in afterwards or not. I handed Gen. Porter the order, which he 
read and tiien handed to one of the Generals, saying, as he did so, "Gen. 
tlemen, there is somethinij for you to sleep upon." I then said that the 
last thing that Gen. V^>p^■ said to me, on leaving Bristow Station, was that 
I should remain with Gen. Porter and guide the column to Bristow Station^ 
leaving at one o'clock, and that Gen. Pope expected him certainly to be 
there by daylight, or relied upon his being there by daylight ; something 
of that nature. Those may not be the exact words. 1 only give to the 
best of my recollection, of course. Gen. Porter then asked mc how the 
road was. 1 told him that the road was good, though I had had difficulty 
in getting down on horseback, owing to the mumber of wagons in the 
road. But I told him I had passed the last wagon a little beyond Catletts 
Station from this direction. I told him that, as they were moving slowly, 
he would probably be up with them by daylight. I also stated to him 
that his infantry could take railroad track, as many small squads of men 
had gone up that way. Those small squads, I would state here, though I 
did not state that to Geu, Porter, were stragglers from Hooker's corps, 1 
should think some GOO or 800 of them, which we passed in going down 
to Bristow Station. They all took the railroad track as the shortest and 
easiest road. 

Q. What remark, if any, did Gen. Porter make, cither to you or to the 
Generals with him, in reply to this statement in reference to the road, and 
the expectation of Geu Pope ? 

A. He stated — I do not think to me, he spoke generally to all who 
were in the tent — that his troops had just got into camp; that they had 
been marched hard that day ; that they would be good for nothing if they 
were started at that time of night; that if their rest was broken they 
would be good for nothing in the morning, on coming up with the enemy, 

Q. Did you, or not, make known to him that you were there for the 
purpose of conducting him under the order of Gen. Pope ? 

A. I did. 

Q. Did he, or not, at the moment, announce any purpose cithey to obey 
the order, or not to do so ? 

A. I do not recollect precisely. 

Q. From the remarks made by Gen. Porter, in your hearing, in reply 
to these statements of yours, was or was i:iot the impression made upon 
your mind that it was not his purpose to march in obedience to the order? 

Question objected to by the accused. 

The Judge Advocate stated that he merely wished to arrive at the fact 
whether there was any determination made known to the witness, in re- 
gard to this order in any way ; he was not particulur as to the form of the 
question to be asked. 

The accused withdrew his objection. 

A. There was no order issued, to my knowledge, of course, one way or 
the other. That would have been done through Gen. Porter's Assistant 
Adjutant General. I can only say that I was aware of the determination 
not to start until daylight, inasmuch as I laid down and went to sleep. 



51 



/^y 



Q. Do I, or do I not, understand you, then, to say that there was an 
evident determination, on the part of Gen. Porter, not to marcli until day- 
%l)t ? 

A. There was. 

Q. Have yon any knowledge as to the time at which his troops had 
arrived at Warrenton Junction ? 

A. Only the fact that the regulars, Sykes' division, were in camp at 
Warrenton Junction at about 10 o'clock in the morning of that day, which 
fact I am aware of from having visited several officers of my regiment in 
their camp. 

Q. These regulars were a portion of Gen. Porter's command^ were they' 
not? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Have you any knowledge how far the troops under Gen. Porter had 
marched on that day ? 

A. I have not. 

Q. What was the character of the night of the 27th of August ? 

A. To the best of my recollection, it was a cloudy night, but not rainy. 

Q. What was about the distance between Warrenton Junction and 
Bristow Station ? 

A. I suppose it to be 10 miles, they say 9 miles, 

Q. What was the distance from Bristow Station to Catletts Station, 
when you passed the last of the wagons ? 

A. I cannot tell you exactly, 6 miles I should think. 

Q. At what hour did you pass the last of those wagons ? 

A. Half past 8 p. ra., I should think. 

Q. Did you remain over night and wait until the march of Gen. Por- 
ter's command the next day ? 

A. I did. 

Q. At what hour, in point of fact, did he move from Warrenton Junc- 
tion ? 

A. I should think the head of the column left about four o'clock in the 
morning ; I am not positive about the hour. 

Q. At what rate did the command march after it left Warrenton Junc- 
tion ? 

A. I would not say at what rate ; he started at, or about, 4 o'clock in 
the morning, and marched along quietly, without any apparent haste, 
meeting with no obstruction or detention, except that arising from the 
wagons we found in the road ; the head of the column arrived at Bristow 
Station about 10 o'clock, I should judge. 

Q. At what point did you overtake the wagons, and how many of them 
do you suppose there were ? 

A. I do not recollect. There was a large park of wagons near War- 
renton Junction, about half-way between Catletts Station and Warrenton 
Junction, which left for Bristow Station at daylight. We overtook those 
wagons. They were in park when I passed down to Warrenton Junction 
the previous evening. Therefore I cannot tell when we overtook the end 
of the train which I had passed near Cutletts Station the evening before. 

Q. What is the meaning of the term "in park?" 

A. In camp. 

Q. Had Gen. Porter's command marched at one o'clock in the morn- 
ing, would he or would he not have passed those wagons in camp ? 

A. He would have passed them in camp probably. 



53 

Q. Was or was not the march throughout at the usual rate at which 
troops move, or was it slower ? 

A. It was at the rate at which troops would move if there was no ne- 
cessity for rapid movement. 

Q. Could they or could they not, in your judgment, have moved much 
faster than they did in point of fact? 

A. They could. 

Q. Did you see Gen. Porter during the march ? 

A. I accompanied him after the first three miles. He came up to the 
head of the column about a quarter of a mile this side of Catlett's Station. 

Q. Did or did not Gen. Porter, or any of the officers under him, during 
the march, make any unusual personal exertions to accelerate the march 
of the troops ? 

A. In drawing the wagons oflF the road, to enable the troops to pass, at 
one or two points, Gen. Porter and also his staff used great exertions. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Will the witness please to state what his going to sleep or retiring 
to rest at half-past nine o'clock had to do with the question of the deter- 
mination of Gen. Porter to start or not to start at one o'clock in the morn- 
ing? 

A. I have not stated that it was half-past nine when I went to sleep. 

Q. Or 10 o'clock? 

A. Nor 10 nor 11 o'clock. I should judge, however, that it was about 
11 o'clock when I laid down. 

Q. We understood it to be immediately after the conversation ? 

A. Very soon after the conversation. Ilad it not been the intention of 
the general not to move until daylight, I should not Lave laid down. 

Q. Did you hear all the conversation that took place between General 
Porter and the generals who were with him, at the time of your arrival, 
touching his determination when to start ? 

A. 1 am not aware that I heard all of it, neither do I remember the 
conversation — merely the impression derived from it. 

Q, Try and recollect whether you heard anything said of the determi- 
nation to start as early as three o'clock ? 

A. I think that " daylight" was the expression, and not any hour. 

Q. At what time did you hear the reveille? 

A. I did not hear it, I was awakened, I think, by the servant of Gen. 
Porter, in whose tent I was sleeping. 

Q, Was it a dark night when you went to sleep — retired to rest ? 

A. Darker than when I was on the road ? 

Q. No, sir — was the night dark ? 

A. I think it was a cloudy night, but not dark. 

Q. Was there a moon that night ? 

A. I do not think so, at any time that I was up. 

.Q Was it a starlight night? 

A. I think not? 

Q. Was it still dark when you were roused from your slumbers in the 
morning ? 

A. I think it was just at dawn. 

Q. We mean to inquire whether the darkness of the night still con- 



/&t 



53 



tinued, so as to be at that time a serious impediment to the movement of 
troops ? 

A. I cannot say. When I was wakened np, it was, I think, just at 
dawn, the day just brcakiug. I was invited to breakfast. Whether at 
that time we used candles, or whether it was light enough to take break- 
fast without, I do not remember. 

Q. Having passed, at about half-past eight o'clock, at or near Catlett's 
Station, the last of the train of wagons proceeding from Warrenton Junc- 
tion to Bristow Station, why did you conclude that if Gen. Porter got 
under way at one o'clock — that is, nearly five hours thereafter — he would 
still overtake those wagons with his troops before daybreak ? Were they 
necessarily proceeding so slowly as that ? 

A: Wagons always proceed slowly where they are in large numbers. 

Q. You spoke of a park of wagons near Warrenton Junction — was that 
park vacant when Gen. Porter's column passed it on the way to Bristow 
Station ? 

A. I think that it was. I think those wagons were still there, but the 
main body of the train had left. 

Q. Those wagons, then, which had left the park were proceeding to- 
wards Bristow Station ? 

A. They were. 

Q. We understand the rate at which those wagons were moving, from 
what the witness has said in regard to the usual rate in reference to the 
preceding line of wagons. They were moving very slowly ? 

A. Moving at the same rate as the others. 

Q. Would not that, then, have constituted a serious obstacle to a rapid 
advance of troops by that road ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Referring to what you have stated of the great exertions of General 
Porter and his staff, after daybreak, to get the wagons out of the way of 
the advancing column, do we understand you now to testify that these 
last wagons of which you speak, being in front of the advancing column, 
would not constitute an obstacle to its movement ? 

A. As a train of wagons, they would not constitute a great obstacle — 
an obstacle to some degree, of course. I did not state that Gen. Porter 
used great exertions throughout the march. I said that he did at one or 
two points — at one or two points where the wagons had been stalled, or a 
number of them jammed up. 

Q. Would not the presence of wagons on a road during a dark, moon- 
less, and starless night, have constituted a most serious impediment to the 
rapid advance of troops, either infantry or artillery ? 

A, I do not consider that that night was a dark night. I have stated 
that it was a cloudy night — that is, the moon, if there was a moon, was 
clouded over. The sky was cloudy, but it was not a dark night. 

Examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination by the Court, 

Q,. Were you awake, so as to speak of the character of the night, after 
eleven o'clock and before you arose in the morning ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know how often the column halted in the march, and how 
long those halts were ? 

A. No, sir. 



54 

Q. How long a time elapsed from the time tbe head of the column 
started from Warrenton Junction till the head of the column arrived at 
Brivstovv Station ? 

A. I vshould judge from five to six hours — I cannot say positively. 

Q. Was the column closed up, or can you say whether the mass of the 
troops of the column substantially arrived at Bristow at that time? 

A. I cannot say. I acted as guide of the troops, and was at the head 
of the column all the time. The road runs through the woods a part of 
the way — through an undulatiog country of small hills and valleys, so 
that I could not tell whether the troops were closed up or not. 

Q. Did any portion of the infantry march along the railroad track? 

A. I think not. I am not aware that they did. Occasionally, in cross- 
ing runs, they would take the railrrad track to avoid getting wet. 

Q. Did the artillery march with the column ? 

A. I presume in tlie rear of the column; I do not know. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 

December 9, 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter TJ. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Kufus King " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Pticketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, 

« J. P. Slough, " 
and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

Brigadier General B. S. Roberts was then called by the Government, 
and sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state to the Court what is your present rank, and what 
your duties, in the army of the United States ? 

A. I hold the rank of Major in a regiment of cavalry in the army of 
the United States, a brevet lieutenant colonelcy in the army, and the rank 
of brigadier general of volunteerswn the volunteer service. 

Q. Will you state whether or not you accompanied Gen. Pope's army 
in its late campaign in Virginia ; and, if so, in what capacity ? 

A. I accompanied that arnay first as chief of its cavalry ; afterwards as 
its inspector general. 

Q. Did or did not your di;ties bring you near the person of Gen. Pope, 
and make you familiar with his plans of operations and his orders ? 



55 

A. As chief of cavalry I had quarters, and was near the person of Gen. 
Pope ; as his inspector general I was near his person, at his headquarters, 
and made very familiar with his plans and his operations. 

Q. What knowledge, if any, have you of an order issued by Maj. Gen. 
Pope, on the 27th of August last, to Maj. Gen. Porter, in reference to his 
movements? 

A. I was with Gen. Pope at Warrenton Junction on the night of the 
26th and the morning fif the 27th of August, until he left that station, 
which, I think, was a little after noon, nearer 1 o'clock than 12 o'clock 
perhaps. I proceeded from that place with him along the railroad in the 
direction of Manassas Junction, as far as a place, I think, called Bristow 
Station. At that place Gen. Pope dictated an order, in my presence, and 
sent that order by an officer of tiis statt" to Gen. Porter. My recollection 
is that Capt. De Kay was the officer who carried the order ; and, I think, 
he left about dusk — I should think halfpast six or seven o'clock. The 
order was written about sundown, and the hour at that season of the year 
was, I should think, about halfpast five — between that and six o'clock. 

Q. State what was the character of that order? 

The accused admitted the order referred to by witness to be the same 
as the one set forth in specification first of charge first. 

Q. Were you present at Warrenton Junction on the morning of 27th 
of August, when Gen. Porter with his command arrived there? 

A. I was. 

Q. At what hour did they arrive ? , 

A. I rode to Warrenton Junction from Gen. Pope's headquarters, I 
think, between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning. A part of Gen. Por- 
ter's command had already arrived there; but what portion of it I do not 
know. I saw Gen. Porter the first time with Gen. Pope at Warrenton 
Junction — I think about 10 o'clock in the morning, perhaps later. 

Q. Did you see Gen. Porter's troops there — many of them ? 

A. I saw that division of his corps commanded by General Sykes, and 
a great many of its officers, before noon of that day; and about noon I 
met Gen. Morell, and I understood at the time that Gen. MorcU had ar- 
rived with the rear division. 

Q. What seemed to be the condition of those troops ? I mean so far as 
their ability to march was concerned ? 

A. I paid no particular attention to their condition. Gen. Morell him- 
self was very much fatigued and quite sick. I remained with him a long 
time in a tent, and had a very long talk with him — I should think be- 
tween 12 and 1 o'clock — and that conversation related to the condition of 
his troops, which I understood to be a good condition. I do not know 
the distance that his troops were mar(;hed that day, but they were to be 
left there for the purpose of rest, and were left there for that purpose. 

Q. Do you mean that they were not ordered to join the march with 
Gen. Porter's command ? 

A. No, sir ; Gen. Porter's command, all of it, left at Warrenton Junc- 
tion on the 27th of August. When Gen. Pope left he did not know that 
Gen, Morell had arrived ; and in writing a dispatch, in which he said to 
Gen. Porter that if Gen. Morell had not arrived he was to give him cer- 
tain instructions on arriving. I informed Gen. Pope that Gen. Morell had 
arrived belbre I left, 

Q. What dispatch do you speak of now ? 

A. The same dispatch as set forth in specification first of charge first. 



Q. Were you at Bristow Station when Gen. Porter's command arrived 
on the following day ? 

A. I do not lecollect that I saw any of Gen. Porter's corps arrive at 
Bristow Station before I left. I saw troops arriving from that direction. 

Q. Will you state to the Court the condition of the road between 
Warrentou Junction and Bristow Station, over which this order required 
Gen. Porter and his command to march ? 

A. The condition of the road was good generally. The first three or 
four miles of the road passed through open country, some woods inter- 
secting it. Some bridges had been burned, and the passing of the streams 
were the only difficulties I now remember, and they were not material, a 
large number of wagons having passed them without any difliculty, as 
Gen. Pope himself moved down, following him. 

Q. State wliat you know, if anything, in regard to any order or orders 
issued by Maj. Gen. Pope to Gen. Porter on the 29th of August in refer- 
ence to his movements l 

A. On the morning of the 29th an order was directed to Gen. Mc- 
Dowell and Gen. Porter severally, lequiring them to move their forces 
from Manassas Junction in the direction of Gainesville, and to continue on 
the road leading from Manassas Junction towards Gainesville, to a point 
which I inferred to be near Gainesville ; but I do not know how near, and 
there they were to halt their commands. 

The J^dge Advocate stated the order referred to by witness was the 
joint order set forth in specification second of the first charge. 
The witness continued : 

In this order I remember they were instructed not to proceed so far as 
to be unable, in case of necessity, to fall back behind Bull Pun that night. 
This order gave to these Generals a discretion of departing from its 
strict letter, if any great advantages were to be derived from such a de- 
parture ; but pressed upon them the importance of keeping in a position 
where they could fall back behind Bull Pun that night, as it was believed 
by Gen. Pope that they would be obliged to do so to get back to rations 
and supplies. 

Q. Is the order set forth in specification two of charge one the order tO' 
which you are now referring. 

A. That is the order I am now referring to. 

Q. What do you know, if anything, in regard to the order issued by 
Gen. Pope to Gen. Porter, set forth in the third specification of the first 
charge, bearing date 4.30 p. m. of the 29th of August? 

A. About 4.30 p. ra. of the 29th of August it was supposed by Gen. 
Pope that Gen. Porter was near the field of battle. The direction in 
which the first order required him to move would have brought him, as 
was supposed, near the field of battle before that hour, and I had noticed 
in that clirection where I knew Gen. Porter was expected, the tiank and 
the smoke from some pieces of artillery. I inferred it to be artillery from 
Gen. Porter, who was expected to attack there about that time. But it 
very soon ceased, and Gen. Pope then wrote another order to Gen. Porter 
which, according to my recollection, stated that the direction of his move- 
ment would bring him on the enemy's right flank or rear, and that he 
wished him to press forward and attack immediately. 

Q. Is or is not the order to which you now refer the one set forth in 
the third specification of the first charge ? 



6j y^~^^ 

A. That is the order to which I refer. 

Q. Will you state what you know, if anything, in regard to Gen. Por- 
ter's having either obeyed or disobeyed that order? 

A. I know that Gen. Porter did not attack as he was directed to attack 
in that order. 1 was on that part of the field several times, and was ex- 
pecting every minute that the attack would be made, and was watching 
for it with a great deal of anxiety, but it was not made. 

Q. Did you continue upon the field until the engagement closed ? 

A. I was on the field all day, and remained on the field all that night? 

Q. What were the results of the battle when the night closed in ? 

A. General Pope's troops, when night closed in, occupied quite a por- 
tion of the field from which the enemy had been driven, and, in my 
opinion, although the battle was not a decisive one, the advantages of 
the day were in favor of General Pope's array. 

Q. in view of what the army had accomplished during the battle of 
the day, in the absence of General Porter's command, what do you sup- 
pose would have been the result upon the fortunes of the battle, if Gen 
Porter had attacked, as ordered by the order of 4.30 p. ra., either on the 
right fiank or the rear of the enemy ? 

The accused objected to the question. 

The Court was therefore cleared. 
Some time after, the Court was reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced that the Court determined that the 
question shall be answered. 

The question was again propounded the witness, as follows : 

Q. In view of what the army had accomplished during the battle of 
the day, in the absence of General Porter's command, what do you sup- 
pose would have been the result upon the fortunes of the battle, if Gen. 
Porter liad attacked, as ordered by the order of 4.30 p. m., either on the 
right flank or the rear ot the enemy ? 

A. I do not doubt at all that it would have resulted in the defeat, if 
not in the capture of the main army of the confederates that were in the 
field at that time. 

Q. What do you know, if anything, in regard to the order set forth in 
the fourth Specification of the first Charge, addressed by Major General 
Pope to the accused, which was as follows : 

"Headquarters Army of Virginia, 
I In the Field, Near Bull Run, 

Axigxist 29, 1862-8.50 p. m. 
"Major General F. J. Porter: 

*' General : Immediately upon receipt of this order, the precise hour of 
receiving which you will acknowledge, you will march your command to 
the field of battle of to-day, and report to me in person for orders. You 
are to understand that you are expected to comply strictly with this order 
and to be present on the field within three hours after its reception, or 
after daybreak to-morrow morning." 

A. I know that that order was despatched to General Porter by an aide- 
de-camp, or a stafi" ofiicer of General Pope, at about S-g- o'clock in the even- 
ing of Friday, the 29th of August. I know that General Porter, in person, 



58 

reported to General Pope on the field, in obedience to that order, and 
that a pait of his command was brought on to the field on the morning of 
the 30th. 

Q. Do you know what part of his command he failed to bring upon the 
field under this order ? 

A. I do not know, of my own knowledge, what part of his command he 
failed to bring on to the field. I know that there were parts of his com- 
mand that I did not see on the field during that day — the 30th of August. 

Q. Qave you, at any time, had any conversation with the accused in 
regard to these orders ? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you had any in regard to the military operations which were 
then in progress, under General Pope, about the date of these orders ! 

A. I have not according to my recollection. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Will the witness state at about what hour the battle of the 29th of 
August ceased ? 

A. It was some time after dark. I should think quite as late as half- 
past 7 or 8 o'clock. 

Q. Does the witness know at what hour General Porter, on the 29th of 
August, received the order bearing date of 4.30 p. m. of that day ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. The witness having spoken of his expectation of an attack to be 
made upon the enemy by General Porter, are we to understand that he 
expected such an attack to be made prior to the issue of the order of 
4.30 p. m., August 29th ? 

A. Yes sir, that is what I intend the Court and the accused to under- 
stand'. And for the reason that I had supposed that any General within 
hearing of an important battle, in whose power it was to engage in it 
would do so. And I had supposed that General Porter's line of march 
from Manassas Junction would have brought him on to the right of the 
enemy's lines before 4 o'clock, and I had supposed that he would attack 
on coming on to those lines. 

Q. Under what order was General Porter acting on the 29th of August, 
prior to the issue of the order of 4.30 p. m. of that day ? 

A. 1 do not know that he was acting under any special order. But I 
supposed that the order that directed him to move in that direction, was 
sufiicient authority for General Porter to engage in the action. 

Q. Having resisted various specifications in that joint order in your 
testimony in-chief, no mention has been made of any specification direct- 
ing an attack; but, on the contrary, of a specification directing a bait, and 
a halt in such a position as to reach Bull Run that night. That joint 
order you consider to have been in force up to the time when the order 
of 4.30 p. m. was issued ? 

A. There was a discretion in that order which, in my estimation would 
have authorized General Porter to have joined at any time during the 
fight of the afternoon of the 29th in that fight, where he could have done 
it to advantage. And in my estimation, any General has the discretion, 
in the nature of things, where an important action is going on to join in 
it, and is bound to do it. 



59 

Q. Did not the joint order specially exclude from the discretion of 
Generals Porter and McDowell, the necessity of their remaining in such 
position as to enable them to fall back behind Bull Run \ 

This question was objected to by a member of the Court. 
The Court was thereupon cleared. 
After due time, the Court was reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced that the Court determine that the ques- 
tion shall not be answered. 

Examination continned by the Accused, 

Q. If there was no discretion left the accused by the joint order of the 
29th of August, would it have been his duty to have joined in the battle, 
if by doing so, he would have violated that joint order ? 

This question was objected to by a member of the Court. 
The question was waived by the accused. 

Q. It being, in the judgment of the witness, the plain duty of General 
Porter to have attacked prior to the reception of the order of 4.30 p. m. 
of the 29th of August, what explanation does the witness give of the fact 
that the order of 4.30 p. m., prescribed a single specified form of attack, 
with the positive condition that the attack should be made in such man- 
ner as not to sever connection with Gen. Reynolds on the right? 

A. As I understood the relation of General Reynolds with the Pennsylva- 
nia Reserves to the enemy's right, Gen. Porter's having attacked the right of 
the enemy, would have brought him in close connection with Reynold's 
left. 

Q. Will the witness inform the Court whether at any time in the course 
of the day of the 29th of August, he saw the command of the accused, 
and the enemy in such a position as to make an attack by General Porter 
upon the flank or rear of the enemy possible ? 

A. I did not see General Porter's command on the field on Friday, the 
29th of August. But I suppose that. I know nearly the position where 
General Porter's command was between 4 and 5 o'clock. And I supposed 
that I had seen smoke from guns of his command. I know the direction 
of the road from Manassas Junction to the field of battle, and in my opin- 
ion, General Porter was in a position where he cjuld have moved forward 
and have attacked the right of the enemy. And I also believe that he could 
have turned the enemy's right flank and attacked their rear, from what I 
know of their relative positions, and from what I know of the country. 

Q. Between 4 and 5 o'clock p. m. of the 29th of August, did the wit- 
ness know whether or not Long-street's forces, in whole or in part, had 
made junction with Jackson, on Jackson's right? 

xi. I did nit know, but I had reason to believe that they had not made 
junction, as I had been requested by General P 'pe, before going on to the 
field, while at Centreville in the morning, to take a position, and with a 
glass to observe whether troops were moving from the direction of Thou- 
roughfare Gap to Gainesville. And having closely observed that country 
for a long time, I became convinced, from the clouds of dust that 
arose above the Bull Run range, beyond Thouroughfare Gap, towards a 
gap north of Thouroughfare Gap, the name of which I now forget, that 
Longstreet was moving very rapidly to get through that northern gap and 
to reinforce Jackson. But from the distance from the head of the column 



60 

of dust to Gainesville, I did not believe that he would be able to effect a 
junction before late in the evening, and so reported to Gen. Pope. 

Q. Such having been the opinion of the witness during the day of the 
29th of August, will he please state whether up to the present time he 
has become satisfied that Longstreet's forces, in whole or in part, did effect 
such junction with Jackson's right, in the afternoon — say between 5 and 
6 o'clock, or before that time on the 29th of August? 

A. I am convinced by information that I have received since that day, 
that a part of Longstreet's forces effected a junction with Jackson in the 
evening of the 29th, I think about dark. 

Q. About what hour in the day ? 

A. I should think about half-past 6 or 7 o'clock. 

Q. Please to state your judgment as to the number of troops of Long- 
street thus effecting a junction ? 

A. As I understood about 17 battalions. 

Q. Numbering in all about how many men ? 

A. Between 4,000 and 5,000 men. 

Q. From what you know of the position of General Porter's command 
and of Jackson's right, would that junction of Longstreet's troops bring 
the enemy in front of Gen. Porter's force ? 

A. If General Porter's force was on the road leading from Manassas 
Junction to Gainesville, where I supposed it was, and they had moved 
towards the right of Jackson's forces, it would have brought him upon the 
leading column of Longstreet's forces that came in. 

Q. In front of that column ? 

A. They would have met each other, coming in opposite directions on 
the same road. 

Q. Would it not, then, in that state of facts, have been materially im- 
possible for General Porter to have outflanked and attacked the enemy, 
and at the same time to have kept up his connection with Reynolds on 
his right? 

A. I can give merely an opinion on that subject. 

Q. I ask the fact, as it would appear from the dispositions of the forces 
there ? 

A. My opinion is that the fact that the accused has stated could not 
have been impossible ; but that General Porter's force was sufficient to 
have defeated Longstreet's, and to have attacked the right of Jackson's 
forces, and to have turned their rear. 

Q. From your knowledge of the position of the troops of the enemy 
and of General Porter's command, will you state what distance General 
Porter must have marched to have made such an attack on the right flank 
of the enemy ? 

A. If General Porter's troops were in the position where I saw the 
flash of cannon, and the smoke, on the road between Gainesville and 
Manassas Junction, he could have reached the right of the enemy and 
turned its rear in less than one hour, in my judgment. 

Q. At half-past 6 or 7 o'clock p. m. on that day, at the time when the 
witness supposes the junction by Longstreet's forces to have been eftected, 
was it not becoming dark ? 

A. It was. 

Q. During the hours march necessary to effect an attack in flank, the 
darkness, of course, would have increased. Would such a march, and 
such an attack, at that hour and in such darkness as would then prevail, 
have been possible? 



A. The accused makes a supposition which is not founded upon any 
fact which I have stated, and I cannot properly answer the question with- 
out a better understanding of its meaning. 

Q. Please point out the supposition made in the question which you 
refer to ? 

A. I have been supposing that at five o'clock, by which time I suppos- 
ed the last order had reached General Porter, that he was within an hours 
march of the enemy's right flank, which would have brought him on 
that flank by 6 o'clock, and it would not then have been too dark to have 
made the attack. 

Q. Have we or not understood the witness correctly in understanding 
him to say that he did not know at what hour the order of 4.30 p. m. 
reached Gen. Porter? 

A. I do not know, except by information. I meant to say that I did 
not know the fact ; but, from information, I believe it to have reached 
him before five o'clock. 

Q. Was the witnesss present with Gen. Pope when Gen. Pope issued 
the order of 4.30 p, m. of the 29th of August ? 

A. I was present with him when the order was issued. 

Q. Was the witness then of the opinion that that order could reach 
Gen. Porter in half an hour after it was written ? 

A. It could have reached him in less than that time as orders are gene- 
rally carried on such occasions. 

Q. Does the witness know the fact that at about 5 o'clock on that day, 
a messenger, an aide-de-camp, I think, from Gen. Porter, came to General 
Pope to ask for orders ? 

^. I do not. 

Q. Does the witness know whether, on the 29th of August, it was a 
leading part of Gen. Pope's plan of operations to fall back behind Bull 
Run, or immediately before that day, on the 27th or 28th ? 

A member of the Court stated that Gen. Pope himself, when on the 
stand, would have been the best witness of whom to have asked that ques- 
tion. 

The accused stated that he would waive the question. 

Q. Did it occur that the witness, at any time on or about the 27th, 
28tb, or 29th of August, made statements to Gen. Pope touching the 
probability that Gen. Porter would fail him, or touching the fidelity of 
Gen. Porter to his duty as an officer ? 

A. After Gen. Porter failed to march at one o'clock on the morning of 
the 28th of August, in compliance with Gen. Pope's order, it occurred to 
me that Gen. Porter might fail Gen. Pope, for the reason that I had never 
conceived that an officer who failed to obey so plain an order would do 
his duty. And when Gen. Porter failed to attack on Friday the 29th, 
when I expected he would attack, and when I know Gen. Pope expected 
he would attack, that impression of mine was made still stronger that he 
would not do his duty. I may have suggested to Gen. Pope my impres- 
sion that he better not rely on Gen. Porter. But I do not now recol- 
lect that I did state that to him. 

Q. Is it true, in any event, that prior to the action taken by Gen. Por- 
ter under the order of the 27th of AugiTst, the witness made any such 
statements touching the fidelity of Gen. Porter to Gen. Pope ? 

A. I made none prior to that time. And prior to that time I had felt 



62 

convinced that Gen. Porter would not only do his duty, but I was of the 
impression that he would do it as well as any officer in the army could 
do it. 

Q. Were the grounds, and all the grounds, of any such unfavorable 
suggestions made by the witness, if any were made, simply the judg- 
ment formed by the witness of the events with which Gen. Porter was con- 
nected on the 27th and on the 29th of August? 

A. They were not the only grounds, as on the 28th, while at Manassas 
Junction, an officer of the aimy, a major general, whose name it is not 
necessary for me to mention, in a conversation that I had with him, in 
which I mentioned Gen, Porter and the high estimation in which I had 
held him, told me that I did not know him, and told me that he would 
fail Gen. Pope. The disobedience of the orders, and this conversation, led 
me up to the opinion that Gen. Porter was not doing his duty in good 
taith to Gen. Pope. 

Q. Had you heard such unfavorable surmise or report concerning Gen. 
Porter prior to the 28th of August ? 

A. I had not. 

Q. Did you on that day hear it from any other person than the major 
general to whom you have referred ? 

A. I do not remember that I did. 

Q. We must ask you, then, to give us the name of this major general 
with whom you had this conversation ? 

A. It was Major General Philip Kearny. 

Q. Was any one present at that conversation between yourself and Gen. 
Kearny, or during any part of it ? 

A. There were several officers in the vicinity ; but Gen. Kearny and 
myself were withdrawn, I think, at the time some little distance from the 
other officers. 

Q. Do you suppose the conversation to have been loud enough to have 
been within the hearing of any one of the other officers? 

A. It is possible that it was. 

Q. Can you tell us who those officers were, as nearly as you can recol- 
lect? 

A. Gen. Pope was near by and several officers of his staff. 

Q. Try and recollect the names of any you can recollect ? 

A. I do not know as I can mention any names — there were five or six 
officers of his staff with him. 

Q. You know, of course, who were the officers of his staff? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who were they at that time ? 

A. Col. Ruggles was chief of his staff' of orders. 

Q. State the names of such officers of the staff, as from their avocations 
and positions on the staff", could have been likely to have been with Gen. 
Pope at that time. 

vl. Col. Ruggles, I think, was with Gen. Pope at the time; and Capt. 
Douglas Pope, i think, and Col. Morgan, and Col. Welch. From their 
avocations, they would have been most likely to have been there at that 
time. Several of the staff officers were absent — had been sent off. 

Q. Were you up and awake, and observant of the character of the night 
between the 27th and 28th of August? 

A. I was up repeatedly on that night, and observed the character of it. 

Q. Was there a moon that night ? 



A. My recollection is that there was no moon. 

Q. Was it a cloudy, or rainy, dark night? 

A. It was cloudy at times, so as to be quite dark, and threatened, about 
12 o'clock, to rain, so that I got up from where 1 was sleeping on the 
ground, found my wagon, and got into it, believing that it would rain. 

Q. At that hour of the night, how far could you distinguish in the dark- 
ness, without artificial light, the figure of a man, or of two or three men, 
or of a squad of men together ? 

-,4. My recollection is that I noticed indistinctly persons moving about 
in the night at very nearly thii'ty yards, perhaps at greater distances. 

Q. "Was it a night in which you could see the road plainly as you rode 
along, at the hour you speak of, between 12 and 1 o'clock ? 

A. There is a special reason why I cannot answer that question, which 
is, that our camp was illuminated from the burning of the houses and cars 
at Manassas. During the most of the night our camp was quite light 
from the flames that continued all the night at Manassas, so that I cannot 
judge well whether I could have seen the road or not. I have only an 
impression upon that subject. 

The examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination resumed by the Judge Advocate : 

Q. Do you or not undertake to state positively that the conversation 
between yourself and Gen. Kearny could have been heard by any of the 
officers to whom you have referred? 

A. I do not think it was heard, and I do not think General Kearny in- 
tended it to be heard. He was an old particular friend of mine, that I 
had served with a great many years, and was telling me of matters that 
had occurred down on the Peninsula, and giving me his opinion of officers 
there ; and we had withdrawn from the others present. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. Where was Gen. Porter's command about 6 p. m. on the 29th of 
August ? 

A. I do not know; but I think it was marching to Manassas, from the 
fact that I saw a note from Gen. Porter stating that he should fall back 
to Manassas; and I suppose now that he was then falling back. I saw the 
note about 8 o'clock on the evening of the 29th of August. 

Q. At what time did Gen. Porter receive the joint order set forth in 
the second specification of the first charge ? 

A. I only know from the report of the person who carried it. 

Q. Will you mention the name of that person ? 

A. I think it was Dr. Abbot, assistant surgeon. 

Q. Wiiat was the character of the night of the 29th of August, and 
at what hour did the battle of that day actually close? 

A. The main battle of the day of the 29th of August closed soon after 
sundown. But later — I think as late as 1 o'clock — a division of General 
McDowell's corps had been pushed forward considerably in front of the 
centre, ann that division was attacked by the enemy's forces ; and that 
part of the engagement, I think, lasted until about 8 o'clock in the night. ' 
That is my recollection. The night was not dark, not as dark as the 
night of the 28th, according to my recollection. I was up repeatedly during 
the nio-ht. 



64 

Q. So far as you know, did or did not any portion of General Porter's 
corps take part in tlie action of the 29th of August ? 

A. I know that no part of his corps did take part in the action of the 
29th, on the field pioper of Manassas. But 1 believe, from information, 
that a brigade of his corps commenced an action on the 29th, but on the 
Mana&sas Junction and Gainesville road. 

Q. Will you state what brigade ihat was? 

A. Gen. Butterfield's brigade, as I have been informed. 

Q. Do you know what was the position of Gen. Porter's corps during 
the night of the 29th of August? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. Do you know at what hour of the morning of the 30th of August 
Gen. Porter's troops came upon the field of the battle of the previous day ? 

A. I did not see his troops come on to the field. The first that I saw 
of him and his command on the field was when I carried an order to him, 
which was betvveen 10 and 12 o'clock in the day, as I remember, when he 
was moving to ihe front of the centre to make an attack. 

Q. Had or had not the fact of the retreat of General Porter on the 
evening of the 29th of August been communicated to General Pope pre- 
vious to his order of 8.50 p. m. of that day ? 

A. I have reason to believe that it had not. I was with General Pope 
when he received the information, on a note or on a piece of paper, from 
General Porter that he was retreating back to Manassas, and stating the 
reasons why he was falling back. But previous to that time I do not 
believe that General Pope knew that he was falling back. 

Q. What time was it when he received that note ? 

A. I think it was between 8 and 9 o'clock at night; probably half-past 
8 o'clock. 

Q. Did the note you have referred to state whether General Porter was 
falling back, or had determined to do so, and was himself going to the 
front ? 

A. The substance of the note was this : that seeing clouds of dust ad- 
vancing, and knowing that the enemy had massed in his front cavalry, 
artillery, and infantry, he had determined to fall back to Manassas. 

The note referred to, set forth on page 116 of the record addressed to 
Generals McDowell and King, commencing as follows : " I found it im- 
possible to communicate by crossing the woods to Groveton " — 

Was then sent. 

The witness was asked — 

Q. Is the note just read the one to which you refer? 

A. That is the note. 

The examination of the witness was here closed ; whereupon the Court 
adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



65 

Washington, D, C, 

December lOth, 1862> 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers, 

" E. A. Hitchcock, 

Brigadier Gen. Rufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

N. B. Bnford, « 

" J. P. Slough, « 
and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were then read and approved. 
Captain Douglas Pope was then called by the Government, and sworn 
and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state what is your rank in the military service ? ' 

A. I am captain and additional aide-de-camp. 

Q. Were you with the army of Virginia in its late campaign under 
Major General Pope ? 

A. I was. 

Q. In what capacity ? 

A. As additional aide-de-camp to General Pope. 

Q. Were you or not on the field of the battle of Manassas on Friday 
the 29th of August? 

A. I was. 

Q. Did you or not on that day bear any order from General Pope to 
General Porter; and if so, what was the character, and at what hour did 
you bear and deliver it ? 

A, I received an order from General Pope to be delivered to General 
Porter at half-past four o'clock. The purport of the order I did not 
know at the time. I went directly to General Porter with that order, and 
it reached him by 5 o'clock. 

Q. Was or was not that the only order which on that day you bore to 
General Porter from General Pope ? 

A. It was. 

Q. Where did you find General Porter with his command ? 

A. I found him at the forks of the road leading from Manassas to 
Gainesville and Groveton, on the railroad. 

Q. What distance was that from Manassas Junction ? 

A. I do not know of my own knowledge ; but I have heard that it was 
between two and three miles. 

Q. What distance from the battle field where the engagement was then 
pending ? 

A. When I received the order I was to the right of the battle field, and 
I suppose it was a distance of about three miles from Gcd. Porter. 

Q. Did you or not on delivering the order learn its character-? 

5 



66 

A. I did not. 

Q. What statements, if any, did General Porter make to you in regafd 
to tbe movements which the order contemplated he should make? 

A. In a conversation which I had with General Porter after his read- 
ing the order, he explained to me on the map where tlie enemy had come 
down in force to attack him, and had established a battery, 1 understood 
him to say that the enemy had opened upon him; but what he had done 
I do not now remember. 

Q. How long did you remain with General Porter? 

A. Abotit 15 minutes, I suppose. 

Q. While you were there, or at any time before you left, did you ob- 
serve any orders given, or any indication of preparation for a movement 
in the direction of the battle field ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. In what condition Avere the troops there at that time ? 

A. I saw only a portion of them ; the portion that I saw I believed be- 
longed to Gen. Syke's division ; they were on the road between the forks 
of the road and Manassas what small portion of the troops I saw that 
belonged to General Porter's corps. It was my impression they were 
halted there. 1 saw the arms of some of them stacked. 

Q. They had their arms stacked ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was not the sound of the artillery of the battle then iFcitdrng dis- 
tinctly audible at that poiut ? 

A. It was- 

Q. And was the sound of the small arms distinctly audible at that 
point ? 

A. In regard to the small arms, I do not remember ; but I could hear 
the artillery very plainly, very distinctly. 

Q. Was it continuous, indicating a continued action ? 

A. It was. 

Q. Did or did not General Porter make any inquiiy of you at all as to 
tbe condition of the forces then engaged in battle ? 

A. There were inquiries made of me by an officer — one of Gen. Porter's 
aide-de-camp, I think. I do not think that General Porter said anything 
to me about — 

Q. As you have passed over the road and know the distance, will you 
state within what time General Porter and his command would have 
reached the battle field after the delivery of that order? 

A. To have reached where I had received the order, it would have 
taken him two or three hours, I suppose; that is, to the extreme right of 
our array. 

Q. AVithin what time Avonld it have required him to reach tbe right 
flank of the enemy ? 

A. I could not state, because I do not know where tbe right flank of 
the enemy then was. My impression, though from what Gen. Porter said, 
was that the enemy Were nearly in his front, I supposed them about a 
mile from him ; that was merely my impression from the conversation I 
had with General Porter. 

Q. Did you or not have another interview with Gen. Porter after that 
time ? 

A. I did not. After receiving a written reply to the order I had 
delivered to General Porter, I started on my way back; and I suppose I 



67 



/3'6- 



had got a mile or a mile and a half from where General Porter was, when 
I was overtaken by an orderly who said General Porter wished to see nie. 
I got part way back when I met an ofBcer, I supposed an aide-de-camp of 
General Porter, who said that General Porter wished to see me. I went 
back, and this aide-de-camp told me I better wait a few minutes. I did 
not see General Porter there. 

Q. Had you or not seen this officer, whom you supposed to be an aide- 
de-camp, during your first interview with General Porter? 

A. I bad, and had a conversation with him. 

Q. In the presence of Gen. Porter ? 

A. While Gen. Porter was waiting the reply to the order I had deliv- 
ered to him. 

Q. What seemed to be his rank ? 

A. He was a first lieutenant, I think. 

Q. Did he or not perform any act or make any remark in the presence 
of Gen. Porter which induced you to believe that he was an aide-de- 
camp ; if so, state what that remark and what that act was ? 

A. I do not remember his making any remark to Gen. Porter, or 
Gen. Porter saying anything to him. My impression is that he told me 
that he was an aide-de-camp. I firmly believed at the time that he was 
Gen. Porter's aide-de-camp. I did not see any act indicating that, ex- 
cepting that he was associated with Gen. Porter ; he was very close to 
Gen. Porter at the time I had the conversation with him — within hearing 
of Gen. Porter if he had listened to it. 

Q. Do you or not suppose that his statement to you that he was an 
aide-de-camp of Gen. Porter could have been heard by Gen. Porter if he 
had been listening to your conversation ? 

A. It could. 

Q. Do I or not understand you, then, to say that that conversation oc- 
curred in fact in the presence of Gen. Porter ? 

A. In the presence of Gen Porter ? yes, sir. 

Q. Were you or not charged by that oflicer with a message to Gen. 
Pope that a scout had come in reporting that the enemy were retreating 
through Thoroughfare Gap ? 

A. I was. » 

Q. Did you regard that message as given to you seriously or jestingly ? 

A. Seriously. 

Q. How long a time had elapsed from the time of your interview with 
Gen. Porter until you returned to Gen. Porter's encampment ? 

A. About three-quarters of an hour I suppose — between that and an 
hour. 

Q. On your return to his encampment did you or not observe any 
preparation on the part of his officers, or of the troops, for an advance 
upon the enemy ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. What was the dress of this ofiicer whom you supposed to be an 
aide-de-camp ? 

A. I do not remember. I do not know whether he had a staff" officers' 
shoulder straps on or a line ofliicer's ; I do not remember now which it 
was. He was in uniform. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 



68 

Examination by the Accused., 

Q. How does the witness fix the hours of the day when he left Gee. 
Pope to bear the order ? 

A. From the date of the order, which was dated 4.30 p, m,? 

Q. Was the road which you took to bear the order from Gen. Tope to 
Gen. Porter direct or circuitous ? 

A. My impression is that it was a direct road, 

Q. Did you pass through Manassas Junction ? 

A. I did not — that is, in conveying the order to Gen. Porter, I did not. 

Q. Did you go up the raih'oad towards Gen. Porter ? 

A. I did not; I met him right on the railroad. 

Q. You have stated how you fix the time when you received the order. 
How do you fix the time of its delivery ? 

A. By the distance, and the rate at which I carried the order. 

Q. And so fixing it, you determine the order to have been delivered at 
6 o'clock ? 

A. Not precisely at 5 o'clock, by 5 o'clock. 

Q. You mean as early as 5 o'clock ? 

A. As early as 5 o'clock ; it may have been three or four minutes after 
6 ©""clock. 

Q. We understand you to say that you make this judgment as to the 
time, from the distance which you had to pass over, and the rate yoa 
went? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. When you first started to go hack from Gen. Porter to Gen. Pope 
did you take the same road back by which you had come to Gen. Porter ? 

A. I did. 

Q. When you made your second start, after the interview with the 
person whom you supposed to be an aide-de-camp, to return to Gen. 
Pope, did you still pursue the same road by which you had come to Gen, 
Porter ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Please to recollect whether an aide-de-camp or other officer of Gen. 
Porter, at the time of your second departure from Gen, Porter's, pointed 
out to you another and a shorter road to take ? 

A. I do not think he did. 

Q. Do we understand you correctly that you did not know when you 
bore the order, its purport ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. When did you first learn the purport of the order ? 

A. I don't recollect at what time — it was since then, though ? 

Q. About how long since is it that you learned the purport of the 
order ? 

A. I think it was at St. Paul, the first time I ever read the order in 
September. 

Q. You then, for the first time, saw the terms of the order, and read it? 

A. Yes, sir; I may have read it before ; but I do not recollect. 

Q. You did not read it until long after its delivery I suppose? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Having then, first become cognizant of the terms of the order at a 
time considerably subsequent to its delivery, you fix the time when you 
receive it from Gen. Pope — I mean the hour of the day — by finding it to 
be dated 4.30 p. m. 



/Si, 



A, The reason I found it to be dated at 4.30 p. m, was that I opened 
the order to show it to Gen. McDowell, and I then noticed the heading of 
it, and saw the date of it. I then asked one of ray orderlies, who was 
with me, what time it was, to see if I could get back to Gen. Pope before 
dark. 

Q. This was before the delivery of the order to Geii. Porter ? 

A. Before ; yes, sir. 

Q. Where did you meet Gen. McDowell ? 

A. About a half a mile from where I left Gen. Pope, and on the direct 
road to Gen. Porter. 

Q. By what authority did you open the order ? 

A. G^n. McDowell asked to see it. It was not a sealed order. 

Q. At what time did you get back to Gen. Pope ? 

A. It was after dark when I got to Gen. McDowell. I stayed with 
Gen. McDowell 15 or 20 minutes. He had then to show me where Gen. 
Pope's headquarters were. It was then, I should think, about 8 o'clock 
when I got to Gen. Pope. 

Q. Had Gen. Pope moved his headquarters ? 

A. He had not. 

Q. If you took the same road back by which you went from Gen. Pope 
to Gen. Porter how was it that Gen. McDowell had to show you where 
Gen. Pope's headquarters were ? 

A. I first enquired where Gen. McDowell's headquarters were. A man 
told me they were up on a hill ; I went up on that hill, but there were so 
many camp fires that I could not tell where Gen. Pope's headquarters 
were. 

Q. Was the night falling when you left Gen. Porter's headquarters the 
second time to return to Gen. Pope ? 

A. I think the sun was then about going down. It was not dark ; just 
evening, late in the evening. 

Q. How would you fix the hour of the day ? 

A. It was about 6 o'clock I suppose ? 

Q. When you left Gen. Porter's the second time ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You suppose it was then about sundown ? 

A. I suppose it was about sundown. 

Q. Would you say after sundown or before. 

A. I do not remember. 

Q, How far was it from Gen. Porter, or from where you started from 
Gen. Porter's location to the place where you passed Gen. McDowell on 
your return ? 

A. It was about two miles and a half. 

Q. And while you made that two miles and a half it had become 
dark ? 

A. I rode slowly back — not rapidly. 

Q. When you reached Gen. McDowell's had the battle ceased ? 

A. It had — I heard some firing, though, after I reached General Mc- 
Dowell. 

Q. How much firing ? 

A. Not much. It sounded like 200 or 300 men just skirmishing in the 
woods. 

Q. When you were brought back by the orderly and the aide-de-camp, 
as you supposed him to be, you did not find Gen. Porter ? Do you know 
where he then was ? 



70 

A. I did not. 

Q. Did anything seem to induce you to believe that Gen. Porter had 
gone to the front ? 

A. There did not. T supposed he had just walked off a short distance, 
and would be back in a few minutes. 

Q. From the time when you arrived to deliver the orders to G-en. Por- 
ter up to the time of your second departure from Gen. Porter's location to 
go towards Gen. Pope about what period of time elapsed? 

A. I should suppose about an hour ; it may have been a little more 
than an hour ; I should think at least an hour. 

Q. How long did you stay at Gen. Porter's headquarters or location 
after you were brought back by the orderly and the aide-de-camp ? 

A. A very few minutes. 

Q. Would you say 5 or 10 minutes? 

A. About 10 minutes. 

Q, Did we understand you correctly to say that it was about 15 min- 
utes after you delivered the order to Gen. Porter before you first started 
on your return ? 

A. It was about 15 minutes. 

Q. The remainder of the hour, then, which you spent near General 
Poner's location, was passed in your going about a mile and a half and 
returning about a mile and a half, and some 10 minutes further of delay 
in General Poiter's camp. 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Will you state, if you please, at what point General Pope was when 
you received fiom him the order of which you have spoken ? 

A. I cannot state exactly where it was. It was on the battle-field — the 
extreme right of it. 

Q. Do you know the location of the Warreuton and Gainesville turn- 
pike, and did you know it at that time ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Do you know now ? 

A. No, sir ; I have not looked at the map since then. 

Q. Do you know whether the accused was located near any road ? 

A. Yes, sir ; I do. 

Q. You are unable, I understand you, to designate the road? 

A. Excepting that it was a turnpike running from Manassas Junction 
to the battle-field. 

Q. A turnpike ? 

A. I think it is a turnpike. It is a very broad road running from Ma- 
nassas Junction directly to the battle-field. 

Q. Was he near the point which was intei-sected by that latter road ? 

A. He was right at the point. 

Q. When you received the order of 4.30 p. m., from General Pope, did 
you take that road in order to gv-t to the accused ? 

A. I struck that road between a quarter and a half a mile from where 
General Pope was. I am not positive that the road I struck was the Ma- 
nassas turnpike ; but it led into that turnpike. 

Q. After striking the road to which you now refer, what distance, if 
any, did you travel upon it ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q, Did you travel upon it until you struck any other road, and, if so, 
what other road did you styike ? 



71 



/^7 



A. I struck that road, and was thea guided by ray orderly. After I 
was on the Manassas turnpike, seeing it was a very good road, I asked what 
road it was, and he told me it was the Manassas turnpike. I did not in- 
quire about the road until I got on this broad road. I traveled on the 
road I started ou, until I struck that broad road leading from Manassas. 

Q. How far did you travel upon what you call the broad road, after you 
struck it ? 

A. I do not recollect. 

Q. Can you tell in what direction of the compass you did travel upon 
that road — north, south, east, or west ? 

A. I think it was east. 

Q. Did that broad road to which you have referrrd, and which you af- 
terwards followed, take you to the accused? 

A. It did. 

Q. Will you state at what point the accused was, when you found him 
with the order ? 

A. He was on that broad road leading from Manassas. There was 
another road running along the railrond ; and at the forks of those two 
road I found him, right against the railroad. 

Q. Are you positive that you returned from thai point, where you found 
the accused, to General Pope, exactly by the same road that you traveled 
from General Pope's, to deliver the order? 

A. I am not positive that I went all the way on that same road ; but 
the majority of the way, I went on that same road. It was very dark, 
and I know I got off the road two or three times, and was directed by the 
camp fires in front of me. 

Q. Recollect, if you can, if it was suggested to you by any one, and if 
you can recollect by whom, that there was a shorter road by which you 
could get back than the road that you had traveled ? 

A. I do not think any one said a word to me about it. 

Q. When you started to carry the order, had you any personal know- 
ledge of the roads ? 

A. I had not. 

Q. Had you any one with you to point out the road that you should take 
to deliver the order ? 

A. I had not. 

Q. In returning, had you any one to point out the road to you, except 
80 far as the orderly may have known it ? 

A. I had not. 

Q* When you started from General Pope with the order, did you know, 
and if so, how did you know where to find the accused ? 

A. I did not know exactly where I would find him. I was directed to 
go to a place which, if I had gone to it, would have brought me two or 
three miles in advance of General Porter. 

Q. Who gave you that direction ? 

A. It was Colonel Ruggles. He pointed in the direction ; he did not 
tell me any certain place to go to. 

Q. You refer to Colonel Ruggles of General Pope's staff? 

A. He was then Chief of General Pope's staff. 

Q. What induced you to take a different direction from the one pointed 
out by Colonel Ruggles ? 

A. I could find no road to go directly to the place I was directed to 
without going through the woods, and I was afraid I would not find the 



72 

place then ; so I took this road as my ordeffly had directed. He said that 
we could go as far as the railroad there, and we might meet some of Gen. 
Porter's troops. 

Q. Did you meet any of General Porter's troops until you got to the 
raih'oad, if so, how far from the road ? 

A. I do not think I met any until I fir&t met General Porter. 

Q. By what information were you enabled — not having the actual po- 
sition of General Portei — to find him? 

A. I inquired at the railroad. When I got to the railroad, I saw some 
stragglers, and I inquired if they knew anything about General Poiter. It 
was an officer I inquired of. He said that General Porter was right straight 
ahead, on the other side of the railroad. 

Q. What information had you that enabled you, upon leaving General 
Pope, to go in the exact direction which you think you traveled, so as to 
strike the railroad at the point at which, or near which, you found the 
accused ? 

A. I was directed by my orderly that that road led across the railroad. 

Examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. At the time you delivered the order of 4.30 p. m., to General Por- 
ter, how far was the head of his column from the left flank of General 
Pope's forces ? 

A. I really do not know. 

Q. When you received the order of 4.30 p. m., from General Pope, was 
he or not near Sudley Spring ? 

A. I do not know where Sudley Spring is. 

Q. Describe more particularly where you were when you started to car- 
ry the order of 4.30 p. m., to General Porter. Which side of the War- 
renton turnpike, for instance ? 

A. He was on the right hand side of the Warrenton turnpike. 

Q. How far from it ? 

A. I suppose about 400 or 500 yards. 

Q. Near the old railroad bed ? 

A. I really do not know. 

Q. How tar was it from the extreme right to the exti\ me left of our 
army on the battle-field that day ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. Could you point out on the map where you were ? 

A. I will try. [The witness accordingly indicated the posstion on the 
map.] 

Q. You heard firing, you say, whilst with General Porter. Did that 
firing proceed from the front, where Geceial Pope was; and did you, or 
not, hear firing from General Porter's command, as if engaged with the 
enemy ? 

A. I did not hear firing from General Porter's command. It was in 
the direction where I had left General Pope. 

Q. Did you take the road, as laid down on the map before the Court, 
leading from Sudley Springs to Manassas Junction ? 

A. I did. I did not strike the railroad but once, and then I found 
General Porter. 



73 



/^T 



Q. At what time did the action of the 29th of August commence, and 
was, or was not. General Porter within hearing of th© fire ? 

^1. At the time the action commenced, I do not know. At the time I 
delivered the order, he was. The time the action commenced, I think, 
was about twelve o'clock. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 

Surgeon Robert O. Abbott was then called by the Government and 
sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. "What is your position in the military service ? 

A. Surgeon in the United States Army. 

Q. Were you or not attached to the command of General Pope, during 
late campaign in Virgiuia ? 

A. I was attached to the corps of General Porter, as Medical Director 
of the Filth Army Corps. 

Q. Did or did you not bear any order from General Pope, on the 29th 
of August last, to Generals McDowell and Poitcr ; and if so, what was its 
character, if known to you ? 

A. I did not know the character of the order. I took a written order 
from General Pope, about half-past 10 o'clock in the morning of the 29th, 
I think, to General McDowell and to General Porter. 

Q. Did you or not deliver that order to each of those Generals ? 

A. 1 did. 

Q. At what hour would you say ? 

A. I think about 1 — between 12 and 1 o'clock — towards 1. 

Q. Where did you find General Porter aud his command at the time 
you delivered him that order? 

A. About two miles from Manassas Junction, on the Gainesville road. 

Q. Will you indicate upon this map the point? Do you mean on the 
railroad or on the t^urnpiko ? 

A. It was on the road. I crossed the railroad, I think, going there, as 
near as I can recollect. I could not indicate the exact point on the map. 

Q. AVhcre was General McDowell with his command ? 

A. He was about a mile in the rear of General Porter, on the same road. 

Q. Do you mean in the rear naarer Manassas Junction ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did, or did you not, deliver a copy of that order to each of those 
Generals; or did you exhibit it to each of them separately ? 

A. I gave a separate order to each of them. 

Q. Addressed to them jointly ? 

A. They were separate orders, duplicates, I believe, of the same order. 
So I thought at the time. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Gen. Porter, in regard to the 
order you delivered to him ? 

A. Nothing more than I told him there was the order from Gen. Pope, 
which he had previously sent me for ; nothing more than that. 

Q. Do I understand that you had borne a message from Gen. Porter to 
Gen. Pope, asking that he would give him a written order directino- bis 
movements? 

A, Yes, sir. 

Q. Was that a written or verbal request ? 



74 

A. It was a verbal request. At the same time he gave me written order 
to Gen. Pope. 

Q. You mean a written request ? 

A. Yes, sir. As I understood him, he asked for an order from Gen. 
Pope, and requested me to ask Gen. Pope for a written order to him. 

Q. Did you, or not, continue witli Gen. Porter's command during the 
remainder of that day ? 

A. No, sir ; after joining Gen. Porter there, I left him to attend to the 
medical affairs of the corps, to hasten up supplies. 

Q. At what hour of that day afterwards did you again see him with his 
command ? 

A. I did not see him again until early the following morning. I started 
to come up, but I lost my way in the woods. 

Q, How long did you remain with him after delivering the order to him ? 

A. Only about 5 minutes. 

Q. He made no remark upon the character of the order ? 

A. He made some remark, but it has escaped me. Before commencing 
to read the order, he made some remark ; I do not nov? remember what 
it was. 

Q. Had the battle commenced when you delivered that order ? 

A. No, sir, as far as the corps was concerned. 

Q. I do not speak of Gen. Portes's connection with the battle ; but I 
speak of the engagement between the other forces of Gen. Pope and the 
enemy, 

A. Yes, sir, in front. 

Q. Was there not cannonading distinctly heard at the time ? 

A. There had been that morning. 

Q. Was it not heard at the time you delivered the order ? 

A. I do not recollect that it was. 

Q. You think you delivered it between 12 and 1 o'clock? 

A. Towards 1 o'clock, I think. 

Q, What do you suppose to have been the distance between the point 
where you found Gen. Porter with his command, and the left wing of Gen. 
Pope's army ? 

A. I can form no idea. 

The examimation by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the accused. 

Q, You have spoken of an oral message which you took from the ac- 
cused to Gen. Pope, and of a written message. Will you state what were 
the contents of the written message, as far as you can remember ? 

A. I did not know what the contents of the written message were. 

Q, Do you remember whether the written or the verbal message, one 
or both of them, contained information for Gen, Pope as to the location 
of some of the troops ? 

A. Nothing was said to me, 

Q. Do you remember of having heard any conversation between Gen. 
McDowell and the accused ? 

A. I did not hear the conversation. 

Q. Or any part of it ? 

A. I did not hear it. 



75 

Q. What reason, if any, did the accused assign for sending the message, 
of which you have spoken, that he might have written orders from Gen. 
Pope ? 

A. He told me to tell Gen. Pope that he had mentioned the orders he 
had received to Gen. McDowell, who remarked that it was strange that 
he knew nothing of them; and that he. Gen. Porter, thought there was 
evidently some confusion in the orders, and requested Gen. Pope to give 
him written orders. 

Q. Do you remember how the corps under the command of the accused 
was moving, at the time you received from the accused the message of 
which you have spoken ? 

A. I supposed they were moving on towards Centreville, in that direc- 
tion. 

Q. Do you know under what orders that movement was being made ? 

A. I do not; I supposed under orders from Gen. Pope, 

Q. Did you understand from the accused, at the time, that he was 
moving in the execution of orders from Gen. Pope ? 

A. That is my impression, though I do not recollect any particular con- 
versation. 

Q. Did I understand you to say that you lost your way that night ? 

A. Yes, sir Upon attempting to join the corps with supplies that I was 
bringing up, it came on dark. 

Q. in what direction were you going ? 

A. I was on the Gainesville road then. 

Q. In what direction were you moving with the supplies, in relation to 
where you undertsood, if you did understand where, the accused was with 
his force ? 

A. I was moving on the Gainesville road, in that direction, enquiring 
as I went along. 

Q. Had you traveled on that road before ; were you familiar with it ? 

A. Not at all familiar; I never was on it before I delivered that order. 

Q. Was it very dark or not ? 

A. It was dark, quite dark. 

Q. How were you traveling ? 

A. On horseback. 

Q. Did you come up with the force of the accused ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Did you try ? 

A. I did. But, having an ambulance loaded with supplies, I could not 
make any headway at all. 

Q. Medical supplies ? 

A. Medical supplies. 

Q. Did you anticipate a battle, or did you know that a battle had been 
going on ? 

A, I did not know whether the corps had been engaged or not, then. 

Q. Did you anticipate there would be a battle ? 

A. I thought there would be. 

Q. Were the medical supplies you were bringing up designed to meet 
the contingencies of a battle ? 

A, To make up deficiencies which I was afraid might occur. 

Q. When and where ; because of the battle ? 

A. Because of the battle, if prolonged. 

Q. At what time did you start with the supplies, and from what point ? 



7^ 

A. I started from just the other side of Bull Run bridge, about 6 o'clock 
I think. 

Q. When did you get up with the army ? 

A. In the morning. The next moruiug I started and met Gen. Morell, 
who told me the corps was marching on to Centreville, and turned me 
back. I turned back the supplies and went on to Centreville, and found 
there was a mistake. I then turned to the left and went to the stone 
bridge over Bull Run. There I left the supplies and joined Gen. Porter, 
and found out where his lines were. 

Q. Where was he when you joined him ? 

A. He was in the advance, the extreme advance. The enemy were 
then firing at the time. 

Q. Was that on the morning of the 30th ? 

A. On the morning of the 30th, 

Q. At what time of the morniug did you get there ? 

A. I suppose about 8 o'clock, as near as T can remember. 

Q. Were you with Gen. Porter when, in the night, between the 27th 
and 28th of August, he moved from WarreuLon Junction to Bristow Sta- 
tion ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. State the condition of the road, as to its being clear or blocked up ? 

A. The road was a great deal blocked, at the time, with wagons and 
straggling troops. 

Q. At what time did the reveille sound that morning ? 

A. We started very early, I recollect. 

Q. Give, as near as you can, the hour. 

A. Soon after daylight we started. 

Q. Were any of the troops in advance of you at this time when you 
started, about the break of day ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know about what time the first movement was made ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. What was the character of the night, dark or clear ? 

A. It was a dark night. 

Q. Do you know of any difficulty or confusion or intermingling of the 
difl"erent divisions or brigades occurring in consequence of an early move- 
ment to start, about 5 o'clock ? 

A. I no not, before we started. 

Q. Do you know of special efforts made by Gen. Porter and the mem- 
bers of his staff to clear away the obstructions ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. I wish you to state what were my relations to you during our 
march, and whether they were of an intimate character or not. 

A. We were always on very friendly and free terms. 

Q. If I ever manifested at that time during the march, either in con- 
versation or in spirit, any disposition to trammel the movements of any 
portion of the army, or in any manner whatever to disobey any order, 
would you be likely to have known it I 

A. 1 think I should have known it. 

Q. Did I ever manifest in any manner any other disposition than to do 
my duty fully ? 

A. Never, as far as I saw or heard. 

The examination by the accused here closed. 



Examination by the Court. 

Q. How far from where the road on which you were travelling with 
the order for General Porter crossed the railroad did you find Gen. Porter 
and deliver the order? 

A. I cannot recall now ; I have a very faint recollection of the road. 

Q. You say you crossed the raih oad ? 

A. I think I did, either that day or the next morning; but I am not 
positive now which. 

Q. How fnr was General Pope when you received the order from the 
place where you found General Porter when you delivered to him the 
order of which you have testified ? 

A. I should think it was about 7 or 8 miles, as near as I can judge ; 
may be a little more. 

Q. "Was or was not the order which you state you bore from General 
Pope to General Porter on the 29th of August, the only one borne by you 
on that day to him from General Pope ? 

A. That was the only one. 

The examination of the witness here closed. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



WashingtuxN', L>. C, UcceiitUr 11, 18G2. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter, United States volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 
Brigadier General Rufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, » 

" J. P. Slough, " 

and 
Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 
The accused, with his counsel, being also present. 
Lieut. Col. Thomas C. H. Smith was then called by the Government, 
and sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state in what capacity you were serving in the army of 
Virginia in its late campaign under Gen. Pope in August last ? 

A. I was aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Pope. 

Q. Did you or not on the 28th or 29th of August carry any orders 
from Major Gen. Pope to Major Gen. Porter which concerned his move- 
ments on those days ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Did you or not see General Porter during either of the days of the 
2'7th, 28th, and 29th of August? 



Y8 

A. I saw General Porter on tlie afternoon of the 28th. 

Q. At what place and under what circAimstances did you see him ? 

A. I had been sent back to the ammunition on the train at Bristow and 
charged with its distribution. General Porter wished once 400,000 rounds, 
Gen. Hooker something over 90,000 rounds. About 2 or 3 o'clock I had 
sent forward to Gen. Porter some 320,000 rounds, and had seized wagons 
to forward the balance, and left Capt. Piatt in charge. The business being 
then sufficiently forward, I went on to find General Pope. On getting to 
the point where 1 had left General Pope in the morning, I found he had 
moved on ; and to inquire the road he bad taken I weut to Gen. Porter's 
headquarters, near the Manassas water station. I found General Porter 
in his tent, and asked him which road General Pope had taken, and he 
informed me. I had some ten minutes conversation with him. One of 
his staif was present. I forget his name. 

Q. Will you state that eonversation ? 

A. After asking him about the road, I told General Porter the amount 
of ammunitioQ that I had sent forward to him, and also that the balance 
would come immediately forward. I asked him if he had received it, or 
made some remark — 1 cannot remember the exact expression. General 
Porter said that he had not — that was the substance of his reply — either 
that he had received hardly any of it, or some of it, if I remember aright. 
I expressed some surprise, and said that it had been sent forward to the 
front as ordered. And either in reply to some question of mine, or to 
some remark, or of himself, he said that he had no officer to take charge 
of it and distribute it, or look it up, or something of that kind. I re- 
marked that he could hardly expect us at headquarters to be able to send 
officers to distribute it in his corps ; that it had been sent forward on the 
road in the direction where his corps was. He replied that it was going 
where it belonged ; that it was on the road to Alexandria, where we were 
all going. I do not know as it is evidence to give the spirit in which this 
was said — the way it impressed me. Those remarks were made in a sneer- 
ing manner, and appeared to me to express a great indifference. 

There was then a pause for a moment. General Porter then spoke in 
regard to the removal of the sick and wounded from the field of Kettle 
Run. He said it would hurt Pope leaving the wounded behind. I told 
him that they were not to be left behind ; that I knew that a positive 
order, an imperative order, had been given to General Banks to bring all 
the wounded with him, and for that purpose to throw property out of the 
wagons, if necessary. To this Gen. Porter made no reply in words ; but 
ills manner to me expressed the stmie feeling that I had noticed before. 

This conversaation, from General Porter's manner and look, made a 
strong impression on my mind. I left him, as I have said, after an inter- 
view of about ten minutes, and rode on, arriving at our headquarters on 
Bull Run just as we entered them and pitched our tents for the night. 
After my tent was pitched and I had had something to eat, I went over 
to General Pope, and reported to him simply what I had done in regard 
to the ammunition. 

1 then said to him, " General, I saw General Porter on my way here." 
Said he, " Well, sir." I said, " General, he will fail you." " Fail me ! " 
said he ; " what do you mean ? What did he say ? " Said I, " It is not so 
much what he said, though he siid enough ; he is going to fcul you." These 
expressions I repeat ; I think I remember them with exactness, for I was 
excited at the time from the impression that had been made upon me. 



79 



/c/ 



Said Get) eral Pope, " How can he fail me? He will fi^bt where I put 
him ; he will fight where I put him ;" or, " he must fight where I put 
him ; he must fight where I put him ;" one of those expressions. This 
General Pope said with a great deal of feeling, and impetuously, and per- 
haps overbearingly, and in an excited manner. I replied in the same way, 
saying that I was so certain that Fitz John Porter was a traitor that I 
would shoot him that night, so far as any crime before God was concerned, 
if the law would allow me to do it. 

I speak of this to show the conviction that I received from General 
Porter's manner and expressions in that interview. I have only to add 
that my prepossessions of him were favorable, as it was at headquarters, 
up to that time. I never had entertained any impression against him 
until that conversation. I knew nothing with regard to his orders to move 
up to Kettle Run. I knew nothing of any failure on his part to comply 
with any orders. 

Q. State more distinctly the point where you saw Gen. Porter on tlie 
28th of August? 

A. He was encamped at the Manassas water station, between Bristow 
and the Junction. The water siation was a short distance from his 
headquarters. [The witness indicated upon the map before the Court 
where he thought the place to be.] I do not think the water station is 
more than one-third the d sfancn from Bristnw to Manassas Juncion. 
Thai is ray impicssioi ; f caiino, speak pOMtivcsly about it. 

Q. In the conversation to which you refer, did or did not Gen. Porter 
manifest any anxiety to get possession of, and have distributed in his 
corps, the ammunition of which you speak ? 

A. No, sir ; I thought he showed an utter indifference upon the sub- 
ject ; showed it very plainly. 

Q. At what hour of the day did this conversation between you and 
General Porter take place ? 

A. I think it must have been about 4 o'clock in the afternoon ; half- 
past three or 4 o'clock. 

Q. In anything that was said in that conversation, or in the manner of 
General Porter, was there evinced any desire or any willingness on his 
part to support Gen. Pope in the military operations in which he was then 
engaged I 

A. Quite the contrary to that. 

Q. Can you state whether the disinclination to support General Pope, 
which you thought he manifested, was the result of disgust with the im- 
mediate service in which be was then engaged, or of hostility to the com- 
manding gi^utral, or upon what did it seem to rest? 

A. It seemed to me to rest on hostility. But I do not know that I 
could analize the impression that was made upon me, I conveyed it to 
Gen. Pope in the words that I have stated. I had one of tho^e clear con- 
victions that a man has a few times, perhaps in his life, as to the character 
and purposes of a person whom he sees for the first time. No man can 
express altogether how such an impression is gained from looks and man- 
ner, but it is clear. 

Q. Had you passed over the road between Bristow Station and War- 
renton Junction on that day, or on the previous day? 

A, On the previous day, the 27th, I came over it after General Pope. 

Q. At what hour of the day did you pass over it ? 

A. I should say that I left our headquarters, about a mile fiom War- 



80 

ronton Junction, about half-past four or five o'clock in the afternoon, I 
should say it was past the middle of the afternoon. 

Q. What was the condition of the road there? 

A. For the first mile and a half, nntil you get to Cedar Run, the road 
was bordered on either side by open fields or open woods, over which 
troops could march easily in great part without going on the road. In- 
deed I doubt whether there is any regular road a good part of the way up. 
The troops marched through the fields to Bristow Station. A road has 
been worn by the troops, I suppose. At Cedar Run, just above the rail- 
road on the west side, there was a bridge and a ford with it ; and men 
coming this side of Cedar Run soon struck a small poice of woods, which 
is, perhaps, then a quarter of a mile. I give these things as I remember 
them. 1 may be mistakea in this point. There it is rather a. bad road 
for mai'chiug. Then for a considerable distancf>, and for most of tlie way 
until you get to Kettle Run, the road was practicable and also the fields on 
either side of it. 1 remember that distinctly, for at Catlctt's Station I saw 
something of the character of the country, as I stopped there a few mo- 
ments. At Kettle Run, there was another bad place. There was, how- 
ever, a very practicable ford there, a narrow ravine, the road running dovvn 
with high banks to it on either side. I should say that there was a half 
a mile or three quarters of a mile of the road in which, if there was a 
wagon train, the march of troops would be badly impeded. The railroad 
track was good, all that I saw of it, men could march upon it. 

Q. Were you or not present at the battle of the 29th of August? 

A. Yes, sir ; I was present. 

Q. Throughout the engagement ? 

A. 1 left with General Pope when he rode on to the field. But on the 
way out he sent me with an order ofi" the road, so that 1 did not get on 
the field for two or three hours after that. 

Q. At what time did you regard the battle as commencing ? 

A. The smoke was rising over a considerable portion of the ground — 
I should say a mile — plainly in view when we were at Centerville ; and 
there was some heavy cannonading. I should say it was about 10 or 11 
o'clock when I first came to Centerville, and it was about 11 or 12 o'clock 
when I saw the appearance of which I speak, the sign of a heavy action 
from the smoke rising. It was very plainly in view from Centreville ; you 
looked right down upon it, and you could hear the sound of the guns. 
I did not ride up to the town at first, but finding that General Pope had 
not ridden on, as I had supposed, I rode back to Centerville ; and then it 
was I saw the appearance I speak of, about 11 or 12 o'clock. 

I should mention, too, in order that it may be clearly understood in re- 
gard to the action, that at the time I was sent off from the road while 
General Pope was riding on the field, there was a cessation of cannon 
firing for a considerable time, I should say for certainly a half an hour. 

Q. Was it, or was not, the battle raging at 5 p. m., on that day ? 

A. Yes, sir, severely. 

Q. Are you sufficiently acquainted with the disposition of the forces 
under General Pope, ami of those of the enemy at that hour, to express 
an opinion as to what would have been the effect of an attack by General 
Porter's corps upon the right flank of the enemy, at betw eeu 5 and 6 
o'clock p. m. of that day ? 

This question was objected to by the accused. 
The Court was thereupon cleared. 



81 /^^ 

After some lime the Court was re-opened, and-— 

The Judge Advocate announced the decision of the Court to be that 
the wituess shall answer the question. 

The question was then repeated as above. 

A. I do not know as I am sufficiently acquainted with the cumbers and 
disposition of the enemy to give a conclusive answer in regard to that, 
I can give my view of it, and give the reasons why I think a flank attack 
would have been successful. The enemy were fighting a defensive battle. 

At this point, the accused suggested to the Court, whether in view of 
what the witness had said iu regard to his knowledge of the numbers and 
disposition of the enemy, it was proper for him to proceed with his an- 
swer. 

At the request of a member of the Court, the Court was cleared. 

After some time the Court was re-opened, whereupon — 

The Judge Advocate announced the decision of the Court to be that 
the witness proceed with his answer. 

The witness continued as follows.: 

A. The enemy were fighting a defensive battle, their right lay near the 
turnpike road between Warrenton and Centerville. The main force from 
which they were detached for the time doing, were off towards Thorough- 
fare Gap, or beyond it. Their position was a strong one for defence in 
front, and in the direction in which the three corps of Sigel, Hientzelmen, 
and Reno, were fighting them. Forced back from the front, they had 
a, line of retreat towards Thoroughfare Gap, towards tbeir main force. 

The direction of a flank attack, moving on the road from Manassas to 
Gainsville, and then moving in upon their flank, was such as to cut off 
their line of retreat. We drove them off the ground as it was. I believe 
that if the attack had been made on their flank at that time, exhausted 
as they were by the fighting through the day, it would have made the defeat 
a rout, by striking them on their Ime towards their main forces, and rolling 
them up on BuirKun and the east of Gum Spring road, and so on in that 
direction. 

In saying that I did not know their disposition suflaciently to give a 
conclusive answer, I meant, of course, that I did not know the amount of 
force on their right. But from the fact that all our attack had been di- 
rected with our left resting on that road, and their right apparently resting 
there, I supposed that if they had had a heavy force beyond that road, 
they would have attempted a flank attack upon us. The appearance of 
the field was such as to lead one to suppose that the entire force of the 
enemy, except, perhaps, something thrown out to guard that flauk, was 
right in front of us on those ridges, that was where all their artillery fire 
was ; and there was wheie the fight continued during the day. They were 
fighting in that position, with their backs towards their main force. Of 
course though we might drive them off the field, we could accomplish not 
any great means, with their great force in the rear and oft' beyond Tho- 
roughfare Gap. This flank attack was the main attack to decide the 
battle, by striking them quartering on the flank, and cutting off their line 
of retreat, so that they could not unite, with their main force in that direc- 
tion. 

Q. You have no knowledge of General Porter's position with his com- . 
mand during the 29th of August ? 
6 



82 

A. I Leave not ; I could say that he was not, beeaase I was OTer that roa(3 
once. I could mention one more fact, that of seeing clouds of dust, as 
indicating the march of some forces towards Centerville, as near as I could 
judge. 

Q. At what hour of the day did you see these clouds of dust? 

A. That was the time I speak of, when I was sent by General Pope off 
the road, off to the south, on the Groveton and Manassas road, I suppose^ 

Q. At what hour of the day was that ? 

A. I was sent off about noon, II or 12 o'clock, the time I spot of be- 
fore. I was sent over to find General McDowell. They gave me a point 
where they said I could find hira, but when I got there they told me he 

liad ffone back to Manassas. That was a laro;e brick house with a well in 

^ ... 

the yard. It may be fixed by other evidence, if necessary. It was where 

General Sigel's supply train was during the day, on the plain open road 

from Manassas to the battle field. 

Q. Do I understand you to say that you have no knowledge of what 
forces were marching, and whose march caused the clouds of dust that 
you saw ? 

A. No, sir; I could see the dust rising on the road, I should think as 
much as a mile or two from Manass.o.;, in the direction of Centerville. 
Although I may have so misunderstood the character of the country^ 
which 1 think 1 did not, that their forces were marching in some other 
direction. I merely state my impression at the time I saw it. There may 
have been a train moving along there. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. State whether you belong to the regular army, or to the volunteer 
service ? 

-.4. I belong to the 1st Ohio Cavalry — volunteers — its Lieutenant Colo- 
nel. 

Q. About what time is the date of your commission ? 

A. The date of my commission is August 24th, 1861, 

Q. Had you belonged to any army before tl^at time ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Have you at any time received a military education? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. In what campaign in which there had been a battle had you ever 
been before the campaign of General Pope in Virginia? 

A. I was not in the battle of Shiloh ; but I arrived there the morning 
after the battle, and I was present during the approaches and seige of Co- 
rinth, and served there in command of my regiment, and up to the time 
that the pursuit of the enemy was abandoned after the evacuation of Ca- 
rinth. 

Q. When did you join the force of General Pope during his campaign 
in Virginia? 

A. 1 joined Gen. Pope somewhere about the 9th of July last, here in 
"Washington, and served with him during the whole of his campaign in 
Virginia. 

Q. Where for the first time did you see the accused ? 

A. I saw him for the first time on the day I speak of; I may have seen 



83 



/C3 



li]-:n in the morniag — but I do not remember ever having seen him before 
that interview on the 28th of August. 

Q. Had you had any correspondence with hira at any time before you 
then saw him ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Were you acquainted with the accused when you saw him on the 
28th of August, and did you know what his services had been in the army 
during this rebellion ? 

A. Nothing more than I had heard Col. Marshall, at our heMquarters, 
speak of him, and also other officers at our headquarters. 

Q. Favorably or otherwise % 

A. Favorably. 

Q. Have you had any interview with the accused since the 28th of 
August ? 

A. I do not remember of having had any interview with him. I have 
met him occasionally, and spoken to him, not to amount to anything, or 
to make any impression on my mind, I do not think I have exchanged 
a half a dozen words with him. 

Q. Have you had any correspondence with him since the 28th of Au- 
gust? ''"' 

A. No, sir, not that I remember, 

Q. "When you have seen him since, and where, as you say, you have 
spoken to hira occasionally, did you exchange the usual civilities between 
officers and gentlemen ? 

A. I believe I have. I may have omitted it from absent-mindedness. I 
believe I have always exchanged them. 

Q. If you did it, when you did it, were you then under the impression 
that the accused had been a traitor in the Pope campaign ? 

A. Yes, sir ; and I have not changed that impression. 

Q. Was it your sole purpose, in visiting him on the 28th, to inform hita 
in regard to the ammunition for his corps? 

A. I have not said that that was my purpose. 

Q, I ask you, was it ? 

A. No, sir; my purpose was what I have stated in my evidence — to 
inquire the road which Gen. Pope had taken. I may also have intended 
to have asked him in regard to the ammunition; that may have been one 
inducement. But my main purpose, the immediate reason for riding over 
to see him was, to ask if he could tell me in what direction Gen. Pope 
had gone, and how I could get to his headquarters. And I am confident 
I am correct in this impression, because I remember of inquiring in the 
corps, riding up to a house which I supposed would prove to be the head- 
quarters of some one ; but I got no satisfaction there, 

Q. Did you make the inquiry of Gen. Porter; and if you did, did he 
give you the direction ? 

A. Yes, sir, and he told me what road. 

Q. Do you know in what manner an officer in command of a corps 
makes a requisition for ammunition, and of whom he makes it, when he 
stands in need of it ? 

A. I know that, in this instance, there was a memorandum handed to 
tne of the amount Gen. Porter wanted. 

Q. The question is, whether you know what is the practice generally? 

A. I do not know how a commander of a corps would make such a 
requisition, for I have never served as aide to a commander of a corps. I 



84 

inow, having had command of a regiment, how requisitions are made for 
ammunition. In this instance there was no regular requisition put in, 
merely a memorandum handed in. There were persons with the train, 
A Captain SchafFer was sent by Gen. Banks with the train, to assist in 
the distribution of the ammunition, and to have charge of it. And Lieut. 
Shunk, an ordnance officer from our headquarters, was also present. My 
business there was not so much that of an ordnance officer. The reason 
I was sent back was because it was important to take wagons otF the road 
to send this ammunition forward — to seize wagons, if necessary, to get it 
forward — to press men in to load the wagons, and to use authority of that 
kind. That was the reason, I suppose, why I was sent back by General 
Pope. 

Q. Do you know in what manner Gen. Pope knew that the accused 
wanted additional ammunition ? 

A. I know by the memorandum which was handed to me, with Gen. 
Porter's signature to it, wanting about 400,000 rounds? 
Q. That memorandum you saw when ? 

A, I saw it on that day, the 28th of August, and again, as I suppose, 
after Gen. Porter's arrival on the ground. 
Q. What time of day of the 28th ? 

A. I should think it was between 10 and 11 o'clock that I received it? 
it may have been earlier. I cannot remember distinctly whether that 
memorandum was sent to me at the train, or whether I received it before 
starling for the train, for the reason that I may have started to distribute 
Hooker's ammunition. 

Q. You were sent by Gen. Pope to see to the compliance with that re- 
quest ? 

A. Yes, sir. He ordered Col. Cleary to seize some wagons, and as he 
was going off, he told me I better go to assist him in the matter, and 
to take charge there — some expression of that kind. T considered myself 
as having charge of the active dnties connected with the distribution of 
this ammunition. The ordnance officer had charge of the memorandum. 
In regard to forwarding it, I was placed in charge to see that it was sent 
forward — in charge in the way, I have said — to use authority to clear the 
roads of wagons, to seize wagons and to direct about their seizure, to press 
men to load the wagons, &c. 

Q. Are you to be understood now, with the knowledge that the accused 
had requested ammunition as early as the morning of the 28th, to say that 
you were under the impression, when you afterwards saw the accused, that 
he was indifferent whether he had that ammunition or not ? 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. That opinion you derived, did you, exclusively from what you have 
termed his sneering manner, or was it from his manner in other particu- 
lars that Were not sneering? 

A. I do not wish to say that his manner was not gentlemanly and cour- 
teous, as it was throughout. But (and I stated so) there was liis ind'ffer- 
ent and sneering manner in regard to these matters of which I spoke. I 
do not know as I understood indifference in regard to the ammunition so 
much as his general indifference in regard to the means of General Pope 
in that campaign. I am speaking now, of course, of ray impression from 
the whole interview. The first impression of that kind I received was 
from his reply in regard to the ammunition, which was also increased by 
the whole look and manner of the man. 



85 /C^ 

Q. Do I understand you now to say that, from your present recollec- 
tion, you do not remember that his manner was sneering? 

A. No, sir, I do not say that; I am meaning to make a distinction from 
rudeness. His manner was not rude or insulting — nothing of that kind. 

Q. In relation to what did you understand him as sneering at all ? 
From anything that he said ? 

A. I do not know that a person can know to what a sneer is directed. 
All his expressions in regard to ammunition, and in regard to other mat- 
ters, gave me the impression that his manner was sneering; that it was 
inditferent. If the object is to know about the impression that was made 
upon my mind, I will say that it was that of indifference and hostility to 
the success of Gen. Pope. The sneers, among other things, gave me 
that impression. 

Q. If his answers and conversation with you during the whole interview 
were not only not rude, but polite and courteous, will you say in what 
there could have been aoything sneering, according to your recollection? 

A. By sneering, I refer to the manner. 

Q. Can you describe the manner in words ? 

A. I do not know that I could describe it any better than to say that 
it was a sneering, indifferent manner and tone. As for the sneering, it 
was somewhat suppressed. 

Q. Without ever having before seen him, and of course without know- 
ing what his manner in conversation was habitually, how are you able to 
tell that his manner upon that occasion was not his usual manner ? 

A. I am able distinctly to tell, because that manner and tone were 
whenever he spoke of anything connected with this matter of the ammu- 
nition, and the matter of Gen. Pope's conduct in leaving the wouuded, &c. 
It was when he spoke of those matters connected with Gen. Pope. 

Q. Had you any conversation with him in relation to any other matters 
on that accasion ? 

A. Nothing more, as I remember, than the matter in regard to asking 
about the road. I dare say there was some other general conversation. 

Q. You seem not to have understood the meaning of my question imme- 
diately preceding the last. I will repeat it : Without having ever before 
seen him, and of course without knowing what his manner in conversa- 
tion was habitually, how are you able to tell that his manner upon that 
occasion was not his usual manner ? 

A. I thought I understood that question, and I have answered it. I 
would be glad to have my attention called to anything in that question 
that I have not answered. 

Q. What the accused wants to know is, how it was possible for you, 
who never before had seen him or conversed with him until this occasion, 
to have known that his manner of conversation then was not his usual 
manner? 

A. I presume his manner and conversation, then, when he spoke of 
other matters than in regard to those connected with our moving back to 
Alexandria, and with regard to the care of the wounded at Kettle Run, 
was his usual manner. But I have no means of knowing whether or not 
it was his usual manner. There was nothing in that connection that 
showed the tone I spoke of, while this tone and manner that I speak of 
was more distinct in regard to these two points I have mentioned. I do 
not wish to be understood as saying that I did not receive the same con- 
tinuous impression all through the conversation, after the remarks about 



86 

the ammuQition, in regard to the character of the man. Of course, T can- 
not remember distinctly about that. 

Q. Do you know what became of the ammunition that he had called 
for? 

A. No sir. 

Q. Where did you leave it ? 

A. I sent it forward fro n the station on the railroad. Each driver as 
he went, forward, was instructed that that was for the corps of General 
Porter, I suppose. This station was just beyond a bridoje over this run, 
I think, (pointing to the map.) There was no regular station there. The 
reason the ammunition was at the point I speak of, was because the bridge 
there had been burned by the enemy, and we could get the ammunition 
no farther towards Manassas than that point. It was stopped tlierefore at 
the head of the ravine that led down to the bridge across that run, which 
I think was Kettle Run. 

Q. Have you any knowledge that the accused received the ammunition, 
and if you have, at what time did he receive it? 

A. I have no knowledge that he ever received it. 

Q. Have you any knowledge that he did not receive it? 

A. I have a knowledge from what he told me that he had not received 
it at that time. He may have received it subsequently. 

Q. The time to which you now refer is the time of the conversation ? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. Then are we to understand you that you have no knowledge that 
he did not receive it at a subsequent period, or if he did, when he received 
it? 

A. He may have informed me on Sunday morning at Centreville, that 
he had received it, but I do not remember that he did. 

Q. Have you any knowledge of the immediate object he had in view 
requesting that this additional ammunition should be sent to him ? 

A. No sir; nothing more than I know that General Porter had reported 
when he came up, that he had, I think, but 40 rounds to the man. That 
is he reported that at Warrenton Junction to us, according to my 
recollection. 

Q. You have stated, if your evidence is remembered correctly, that the 
accused said he had no persons to take charge of and distribute the am- 
munition, and requested officers to be sent ? 

A. I did not say that he requested officers to be sent to him. He said 
he had no officers for it. That was the first expression in his conversation 
which struck me as strange. 

Q. You have said, if understood correctly, that the whole of the 
enemy's forces, whilst the battle of the 29th of August was going on, 
was not on the field in front of the Union troops. 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. What portion of the enemy's forces were in the rear on that occa- 
sion, as you supposed ? 

A. I believe, as far as we had information from spies and that, we had 
Jackson and Evvell in front of us there, and a part of Longstreet's force 
that come on to the field. 

Q. Do you know what Generals commanded the divisions of the array 
of the enemy ? 

A. I knew at the time, from information that we had, I do not know as 
I can remember them now. I myself examined a number of prisoners 
and deserters from time to time, 



Q. Did Longstreet, as far as you know, command all the forces that 
were in the rear when the battle commenced on the 29th of August? 

A. I supposed Robert E. Lee commanded the army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, which was the army operating against us. 

Q. The question is who immediately commanded the forces of the 
enemy in the rear. What General ? 

A. Robert E. Lee, I supposed. 

Q. Was not Gen. Longstreet there? 

A. I do not know. I understood that General Buford counted a por- 
tion of the enemy that passed through Gainesville, which were all the re- 
inforcements that got up for the enemy that day, I think. I cannot re- 
member distinctly when he reported that, or how it came to us. 

Q, Do you remember the number that Gen. Buford reported? 

A. No sir, [ do not even know at what hour of the day, I heard that 
report. I do not know that I heard it until the next day. 

Q. In saying that, as you understood, General Robert E. Lee command- 
ed the army of the enemy, are you to be understood as meaning to say 
that he was in person in the battle of the 29th of August ? 

Q. Or in person commanded that portion (>f the army of the enemy 
that was in the immediate rear of Jackson and Ewell ? 

A, No sir, I did not know that. 

Q. Do you now know whether General Longstreet, with the forces 
under his immediate command, joined the enemy at that time, and on 
what portion of the enemy's lines? 

A. No sir. As I said before, all I can give is the impression derived 
from the appearances of the field in front of us, as to where the enemy 
was — and what their force was — that combined with such information 
as we had received of their movements the two or three days previous. 

Q. If' Jackson's corps was the one immediately in front of our forces 
commanded by the accused, and Longstreet's corps had united with 
Jackson's corps on his right, are you sufiiciently acquainted with the char- 
acter of the country and the position in which the accused was with his 
corps, to be enabled to say that he could have, after that junction, attack- 
ed the enemy's right in flank and in rear ? 

A. From the general character of the country there, although I do not 
know the nature of the ground immediately between the Gainesville road 
and the right of the enemy, I infer that the corps of the accused could 
have moved up, its right joining with the forces engaged, and have flank- 
ed the enemy. This is not all an inference merely from the general 
character of the country. It is based also on the fact that that portion of 
the country over which, as I understand it, the corps of the aacused 
would have moved upon the enemy, was sufficiently practicable to enable 
the enemy, as they did, to make a similar movement upon our left on the 
next day. 

Q. Will you designate upon the map the exact direction, as near as 
you can, in which the enemy made the attack upon our left and in the 
rear ? 

A. (The witness indicated upon the map.) 

Q. What time of the day on Saturday the 30th of August, was that 
attack made by the enemy ? 

A. That attack, the weight of it, was made about 4 or 5 o'clock in the 
afternoon, I think 3 or 4 o'clock. It would be pretty hard for me to tell 
the hours on Saturday ; it was a pretty an}fious day. My opinion about 



time Saturday afternoon, I think would be worth little, except the tiisa© 
after that attack commenced, when I could give a pretty good estimate of 
the time, and that is the way in which I judge. My impression is tliat 
we were fighting there about three or four hours — about two hours before 
they gave out and could make no further impression on ns. 

Q. At ihe time of the attack of which you have spoken, what was the 
distance between the left of our lines and the right of the enemy's ? 

A. There was no distance ;. they were fighting face to face afier the at- 
tack commenced. They kept swinging around ; their fire kept coming in 
more and more on our Hank, antil at last it was right square on our flank. 
The last battery they planted was as much as a mile fiom where they 
commenced — there was no musl<eiry with that battery. Their musketry 
had then given out. That was the last firing there was — the artillery fire- 
That battery raked over rather in the rear of the ridge where the Henry 
house stands. 

Q. What distance, or about what dis.tance had the enemy to march to 
make the attack on our flank, of wiich you have spoken, their right going 
around on our left — Saturday ? 

A. I suppose it would certainly be several miles, making a circuit, as- 
they would, to come in. Their movements were veiled by woods beyond 
the ridges there. 

Q. l3o you know what distance the accused would have had to have 
marched in order to carry out the order of 4.80 p. m. of the 29th, if he 
had received it, and if he received it at 5 o'clock ? 

A. It would depend on where his corps was. It was about five mile& 
from Manassas Junction to where the right of the enemy were at half 
past 5 'o'clock. I do not know where the accused was, and I cannot tell 
what distance he would have had to have marched. 

Q. Do you know whether the enemy on that day occupied any part o^f 
the Manassas Gap Railroad ; and, if you do, will you state what part ? 

A. No, sir; I know that their movements there were veiled somewhat 
in that direction on Friday. I believe, as I said before, I can only tell 
where all the might of their fire was. 

Q. Will you state, if you can, when the accused reported to Gen. Pope 
on the morning of the 30th of August ? 

A. I do not know that I can state the exact hour ; but my recollection 
is that he reported quite early in the morning. 

Q. Having stated that you had no knowledge of the accused person- 
ally, until your interview with him on the 28th of August, and such as 
was obtained during that interview, which, you say, was some 15 min- 
utes' long, are you to be understood now as thinking that you were 
justified in giving the opinion, aud in now maintaining it — looking to the 
past history of the accused during the present war — that he was a traitor 
to the cause of his country ? 

A. I have as clear an opinion as I had at that time in regard to Gen. 
Porter, although not as vivid. I think that Gen. Porter was determined, 
so far, not to co-operate as to force us back to Washington to compel us 
to give back. In using the expression that Gen. Porter was a traitor — 
which I used to Gen. Pope — I am not aware that I considered in ray 
mind the term as meaning treason to the country, or whether I analyzed 
in my mind what his notions were, any more than I had gained, as I have 
said, the impression that he was indift'erent to the fate of the campaign as 
regarded Gen. Pope. In regard to the matter I do not now remember 



89 

tbat I then tlionght out or came to any conclusion as to whether it was 
general treason. The conviction on my mind was that he would fail Gen. 
Pope. That failure had to do with his personal relations to Gen. Pope 
— that is, that Gen. Pope was to be made to fail in that campaign — be- 
cause these expressions, this snceriug as I have termed it, were connected, 
as I have said, with these matters in regard to Gen. Pope. I cannot say 
that I came at that time, or have now come, to any conviction that Gen. 
Porter was a traitor to his country. That expression, as I used it at that 
time, must be taken with the context. In that point of view I considered 
him a traitor; it was treason to fail to support the commanding general. 
I do not doubt that the expression " traitor " was a heated expression, 
used under excitement, and that the impression on my mind would have 
been expressed sufficiently by having said that he would fad Gen. Pope. 

Q. Was there anything in the words actually spoken by the accused in 
your interview, with him — independent of the manner in which they were 
spoken — to lead you to the conviction that he was a traitor — to lead you 
to the conviction that he was a traitor, or would act traitorously to Gen. 
Pope ; if there was, state what the words were, as near as you can recol- 
lect. 

A. The first words were his indifference in regard to the distribution of 
the ammunition, saying he had no officers to send. Then his expression, 
showing that he supposed it a settled matter that we were going back to 
Alexandria, were to be driven back, saying that it was just as well that 
the ammunition had gone to where it belonged — in the direction where 
we were going. The expressions were of that kind ; I cannot remember 
the exact words, but that was the substantial character of them. Those 
expressions, combined with the look and manner of the man, led me to 
that conviction ; looked to me like those of a man with a crime on his 
mind. Those expressions attracted my attention, and probably led me to 
examine and look at the face, and notice the eye and manner of the ac- 
cused. 

Q. Are you able to say now whether those expressions alone, without 
regard to what you supposed to have been the manner of the accused,, 
would have led you to the opinion of the accused that you have stated ? 

A. I think the tone would have led me to that conviction. T cannot 
answer the question more distinctly than I have. The impression is all 
one. I will endeavor to make any farther explanation of it if it is of any 
use. 

Q. Are you to be understood as having said seriously that if there was. 
no human law to prevent it you would have killed the accused because of 
what occurred at the interview of which you have spoken ? 

A. I am to be understood as having said that that was the feeling I 
had at that time. I did not ride away from the accused with that feeling. 
I suppose it was roused, perhaps, by the manner in which Gen. Pope took 
my opinion in regard to the accused I became more vehement, perhaps I 
took a stronger expression. 

Q. Will you state, as exactly as you can, what the accused said to you 
in relation to the sick and wounded ? 

A. I think his first expression was that " it would hurt Pope, leaving 
the wounded behind." I then told him that they were not left behind ; 
that positive orders had been given to Gen. Banks in regard to it ; that I 
had seen the order. 

The examination by the accused here closed. 



90 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. In using the expression " traitor " in connection with Gen. Porter 
did the witoess bear in mind the character of a traitor in connection with 
the definition of treason in law ? 

A. No, sir; it was, as I have said, a vehement, excited expression, 
founded on my conviction that Gen. Porter was going to fail us ; that it 
WHS his purpose to do so. 

Q. Supposing that Gen. Porter's corps had been at the junction of the 
Manassas railroad with the road from Sudley Springs south, on the 29Lh 
of August, at 5 p. ra., how long would it have taken that corps to have 
reached the right flank of the enemy had it been moved with promptness 
and rapidity ? 

A. I have never been over the country at that-^point. I only know the 
general character of the country. I should say that that was about three 
miles from the right flank of the enemy ; and, I think, from the nature of 
the country, as far as I saw it, it could have been accomplished with ac- 
tivity in an hour. 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C. 

December 12 th, 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present: 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 
Brigadier Gen. Rufus Kino;, " 

" B. M. Preiitiss, « 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, " 

J. P. Slough, ♦' 

and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 
The accused, with his counsel, being also present. 

Major General Samuel P, Heintzelman was then called by the Gov- 
ernment, and sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state what is your position in the military service of the 
United States ? 

A. I am a Major General in the volunteer service. 

Q. In what part of the State of Virginia were you, with your com- 
mand, on the 27th of August last? 

A. Near Warrenton Junction. 

Q. What information have you in regard to the condition of General 



91 



/^y 



Hooker's supply of ammunition, after the battle of Kettle Run, on the 
27th of August? 

A. A portion of his division was nearly out of ammunition. 

Q. Was, or was not, that fact made known to Major General Pope in 
the afternoon of the 27th of August? 

A. Late in the ai'teruoon it was. 

Q. Have you, or not, any knowledge that this condition of thing had 
been in any way cummi;nicated to the accused ? 

A. I have no knowledge on that subject. 

Examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Will you state what was the condition of the road between War- 
rcnton Junction and Bristow Station, on the evening of the 27tli of Au- 
gust ? 

A. It was a narrow road, in tolerably good condition. A part of it ran 
through some woods. 

Q. Were there any, and if any what, obstructions upon that road which 
would have impeded the movement of troops in large numbers ? 

A. They could only march in on line. There were a few little ditches 
that were bad crossing, and I think the road crossed the railroad, perhaps 
once or twice. Those crossings were bad. I do not recollect distinctly 
about the road ; it was not a very good road, however. 

Q. Will you state whether it was to any extent obstructed by wagons ? 

A. There was a large train of wagons behind us ; a considirable ob" 
struction. 

Q. When you say that the wagons were behind your command, are we 
to understand that you mean to say that they were behind the command 
of the accused or in front of it ? 

A. They were in front of the command of the accused. 

Q. Do you remember now what the character of the night was ? 

A. It was very dark. In the course of the night, we had a drizzling 
rain. Our tents were not pitched; we lay out in the rain. We had diffi- 
culty in getting our wagons up. 

Q. Will you state what difficulty you had in getting your own wagons 
up ; how long you were engaged ? 

A. The night was very dark. Our wagons did not come up until an 
hour or two, perhaps more, after night. 

Q. What was your command at that time ? 

A. I commanded the third corps of the Army of Virginia, consisting 
of Gen. Hooker's and Gen. Kearney's divisions. 

Q. Were you made acquainted, by Gen. Pope, with, or did you know, 
what were his plans I 

A. I did not know what his plans were. 

Q,. Is your reply to the last question to be understood to refer to the 
knowledge you had on the 27th of August, or do you mean to include 
also the 28th and the 29th, as days when you were not advised of his plans ? 

A. I had no full information of his plans. We had some discussions 
about what was to be done. 

Q. From the discussions that you had, did you understand that the con- 
tingency might happen that would render it necessary for tlie Union army 
to retire behind Bull Run ? 



92 

A. I knew tbat the enemy had possession of the railroad, and of course 
that we were obliged to fall back. 

Examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination resumed by the Judge Advocate. 

Q. You spoke of a long wagon train attacked to your command ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Had the accused left Warrenton Junction at one o'clock on the morn- 
ing of the 28th of August, would that train have been in his way or out 
of his way, in marching to Biistow Station ? 

A. I do not recollect distinctly, but I do not think the train had got in 
the next momitjg when we left. 

Q. You spoke of the darkness of the night. It was not too dark, was 
it, lor the march of troops along the road ? 

A. Not impossible for them to march, but there would have been a 
great many stragglers. 

Q. There are stragglers in all night marches, are there not ? 

A. Yes, sir, certainly, more or less. 

Examination by the Judge Advocate closed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. How far had Gen. I'orter's corps marched on the 2'7th of August 
before its arrival at Warrenton Junction ? 

A. I have no information on the subject. 

Q. Was there but one route that troops could take, in passing from 
Warrenton Junction to Bristow Station ? 

A. I believe there was but one direct road ; I am not well informed 
upon that subject. 

Q. Was the railroad made use of in connection with the regular dirt 
road ? 

A. It was very difficult to march on the railroad in the night. Some 
of the rails were torn up, lies piled up on the track, culverts destroyed, 
and bridges burned. 

Q. Was there, on the night of the 29th of August, a rout of march 
practicable for Gen. Porter's troops from Warrenton Junction to Bristow 
Station, so far as you have knowledge of the country ? 

A. That would depend upon where the wagons were. There were 
places where the wagons would have entirely obstructed the road. 

Q. Do you know where those wagons were ? 

A. 1 do not. 

Q. AVere there or not any repairs on the railroad between Warrenton 
Junction and Bristow Station, between the time when you passed over it, 
and 1 o'clock of the morning of the 28th ? 

A. I believe not. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 

Major General Irwin McDowell called by the Government, and sworn 
and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state your position in the military service of the United 
States ? 



I 



/^y 



93 



A. I nm a Major General of Volunteers, and a Brigadier General in the 
liegular Army, so called. 

Q. Will you state the command you exercised in the Army of Virginia, 
on the 29th of August last? 

A. I commanded the Third Army Corps of the Army of Viroinia. 

Q. Was not Mnjor General Pope your superior officer on that day ? 

A. He was. 

Q. State the nature of any order that you may have received from Gen. 
Pope on the morning of the 29th, directed jointly and severally to your- 
self and General Porter, and the hour, so far as you remember it, of its re- 
ceipt, and the position of your command at the time. 

A. Early on the morning of the 29th, after directing Reynold's division 
to co-operate with General Siojel's corps, in a movement he was about to 
make against the enemy, I left for the purpose of bringing up the divisions 
of Generals King and Kickett's, who, I learned, were at or in the vicinity 
of Manassas Junction. On arriving at Manassas Junction, I met Major 
General Porter's corps coming up, and saw Major General Porter. Soon 
after, he showed me an order from Major General Pope to himself, direct- 
ing him to make a certain movement, and take with him King's division. 
I am giving the substance of it merely. 

Some conversation took place between General Porter and myself con- 
cerning this order — I feeling some embarrassment at one of my divisions 
going off, as it seemed to me, under his command. He mentioned to the 
effect that as I was the senior officer, I naturally and necessarily command- 
ed the whole — his force as well as ray own — and with that understanding 
the division followed after his corps on the road that he was ordered to 
take — towards Centreville, I think. Learning that General Rickctt's di- 
vision was in the vicinity, I had it brought over to follow after King's di- 
vision ; King's and Rickett's divisions in the order named, having on the 
same road and following the corps of General Porter. I cannot tell the time 
of day, not the exact place, when and where I received an order from Gen. 
Pope, addressed jointly to Gen. Porter and myself. It was on the road 
leading from Manassas Junction to Gainesville. I have that order liere. 
I will read it. It is as follows : 

Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

Centreville, August 29, 1862. 
Generals McDowell and Porter : 

You will please move forward with your joint command towards Gaines- 
ville. I sent General Porter without orders to that etFect, an hour and a 
half ago. Heintzelman, Sigel, and Reno, are moving on the Warrenton 
turnpike, and must now be not far from Gainesville. I desire that as soon 
as communication is established between this force and your own, the whole 
command shall halt. It may be nacessary to fall back behind Bull Run, 
at Centreville, to night. I presume it will be so on account of our sup- 
plies. 

I have sent no orders of any description to Ricketts, and none to inter- 
fere in any way with the movemeuis of McDowell's troops, except what I 
sent by his aide-de-camp, last night, which were to hold his position on 
the Warrenton pike, until the troops from here should fall on the enemy's 
flank and rear. I do not even know Ricketts' position, as I have not been 
able to iind out where General McDowell was, until a late hour this morn- 
ing. General McDowell will take immediate steps to communicate with 



94 

General Ricketts, and instruct him to join tlio other divisions of his corps 
as soon as practicable. 

If any considerable advantages are to be gained by departing from this 
order, it will not be strictly carried out. One thing must be held in view 
— that the troops must occupy a position from which they can reach Bull 
Run to-night or by morning. 

The indications are that the whole force of the enemy is moving in this 
direction at a pace that will bring them here by to-morrow night or the 
next day. 

My own headquarters will, for the present, be with Heiutzelman's corps, 
or at this place. 

(Signed) JOHN POPE, 

Major General Commanding > 

That was the only order I received from General Pope that day. 

Q. How did you regard that order ? As placing General Porter in sub- 
ordination to you, or as indicating tbat you were both to act independently 
of earh other, and each of you in subordination to General Pope ? 

^1. 1 cannot say that at that time the order occupied my mind in con- 
nection with the question of subordination or otherwise. In starting out 
on this road, as I mentioned before. General Porter had started out ahead 
of mc, under the order he had himself received, from General Pope, to 
move with his corps and one of my divisions on a certain road, and 1 think 
for a certain purpose, though I am not certain as to that. At that time^ 
I conceived General Porter to be under me. When the joint order reached 
us, we were doing what that joint order directed us to do ; that joint order 
found the troops in tl)e position in which it directed them to be. 

That joint order gave a discretion to the eft'ect that if any considerable 
advantages were to be gained by departing from that order, it was not to 
be strictly combined. I decided that considerable advantages were to be 
gained by departing from that order, and I did not strictly construe it, or 
strictly carry it out. That order contemplated a line being formed, which 
was to be joined on to a line that was to come up from the east to the 
west, and have the troops on the Gainesville road to attack the flank and 
rear of the enemy, as I understood it, in moving along on the Gainesville 
road. This long line of troops — those who were ahead of me, (General 
Porter's corps,) — coming to a halt, I moved along, and rode by his corps, 
to the head of the column. 

On the way up to the head of the column, I received a note from Gen. 
Buford, addressed to General Ricketts and to be forwarded to me. This 
note was addressed primarily to General Ricketts, and then to myself, for 
I do not thirdc General Ijutord knew of General Porter being there at the 
time he wrote it. 1 will read the notice : 

Headquarters ^Cavalry Brigade, 

9.30 a. m. 
General Ricketts : 

Seventeen regiment'^, one battery, 500 cavalry passed through Gaines- 
ville three-quarters of an hour ago on the Centreville road. 1 think this 
division should join our forces now engaged at once. 

(Signed)^ JOHN BUFORD, 

Brig. Gen. 
Please forward this. 



95 ^ 

This was addressed to Gen. Ricketts, wlio commanded a division, I do 
not know whether it went to Gen. Ricketts direct, or came to me direct, 
or came to me from Gen. Ricketts. I infer it had reference to that divi- 
sion. Gen. Buford belonged to Gen. Banks' corps, but had been tempore 
arily under my orders the day before, and had gone up to Thoroughfare 
Gap with Ricketts' division at the time I expected a force of the enemy to 
come through that Gap, and he had fallen back with Ricketts, and at that 
time, as I understood, occupied a position to our left and front. 

Q,. Did you or not communicate to Gen. Porter the contents of the 
note from Gen. Buford, which you have read ? 

A. Yes, sir; I did communicate it to him. 

Q. Where was Gen. Porter's command at that time ? 

A. On this road leading from Manassas Junction, by way of Bethlehem 
chr.pel or church, towards Gainesville. The rear of his column had passed 
by Bethlehem Chapel, which is at the junction of the Sudley Spring road 
from Manassas Junction to Gainesville. 

Q,. Bethlehem Church enables you to identify that position ? 

A. Yes, sir ; it is at the junction, or the crossing rather, a little beyond 
the ci'ossing of the Sudley Spring, or Gum Spring, or old Carolina road, 
with the road from Manassas Junction to Gainesville. The rear of Gen. 
Porter's command was beyond that road, the head of it stretching out here 
in this direction (indicating on the map.) 

Q, Can you speak with any confidence as to the hour of the day at 
which you communicated to Gen. Porter the contents of this note Irom 
Gen. Buford ? 

A. It was somewhere before noon I think. It is impossible for me to 
keep the hours of the day in my mind on such occasions; 1 have tried it 
several times, but have never succeeded, except some important things, 
such as daylight and darkness. It was communicated a short time after 
it was received. 

Q. Did you or not, upon communicating this note, confer with General 
Porter in reference to his movements and your own ? 

A. I did. 

Q. Will you state fully what occurred in that conference? 

A. On passing the head of Gen. Porter's column, which was on the 
road I have before mentioned. Gen. Porter was in advance of the head 
of his column — I think on a slight eminence, some of his staff near him. 
I rode up to him, and saw that he had the same order as myself — the 
joint order. Soon after my attention was directed to some skirmishing — • 
I think some dropping shots in front of us. The country, in front of the 
position where Gen. Porter was when I joined him, was open for several 
hundred yards, and was, as I supposed, by seeing the dust coming up 
above the trees, the W^arrenton turnpike, which was covered from view 
by woods. How deep those woods were I do not know. It did not seem 
at that time to be a great distance to that road — the Warienton turnpike. 
I had an impression at the time that these skirmishers were engaged with 
some of the enemy near that road. 

I rode with Gen. Porter from the position he occupied eastward to 
the right. That is, tbe column being somewhat west of north, and I 
going east, made an angle with the line of troops on the road. The joint 
order of Gen. Pope was discussed between us ; the point to be held in 
view, of not going so far that we should not be able to get beyond Bull 
Run that night : that was one point. The road being blocked with Gen. 



96 

Porter's troops from where the head of his column was back to Bethle- 
hem Church ; the sound of battle, v/hich seemed to be at its bight on our 
road to Groveton ; the note of Gen. Buford indicating the force that had 
p;^ss'id through Gainesville ; and, as he said, was moving towards Grove- 
ton, where the battle was going on, the dust ascending above the trees 
seeming to indicate that force to be not a great distance from the head of 
Gen. Porter's column. I am speaking now of that force of the enemy re- 
ferred to by Gen. Buford as passing down the Warrenton turnpike towards 
Groveton I understand this note of Geu. Buford to refer to a force of the 
enemy. 

The question with me was how, soonest, within the limit fixed by Gen. 
Pope, this force of ours could be applied against the enemy. Gen. Porter 
made a remark to me which showed me that he had no question but that 
the enemy was in his immediate front. I said to him : " You put your 
force m here, and I will take mine up to the Sudley Spring road, on the 
left of the troops engaged at that point with the enemy," or words to that 
effect. I left Gen. Porter with the belief and understanding that he 
woul I put his force in at that point. I moved back by the shortest road 
I could find to the head of my own troops, who were near Bethlehem 
Church, and immediately turned them up north on the Sudley Spring 
road to join Gen. Reynold's division, which belonged to my command, and 
which I had directed to co-operate with Gen. Sigel in the movements he. 
Gen. Sigel, was making at the time I left him in the morning. After see- 
ing the large part of my truops on the Sudley Spring road I rode forward 
to the head of the column. I met a messenger from Gen. Pope — I stopped 
him, and saw that he had an oader addressed to Gen. Porter alone. I do 
not recollect more ttian the general purport or tenor of that order. It was 
to the effect that he should throw his corps upon the right flank or rear 
of the enemy from the position he then occupied. When I say right flank 
I do so merely because my knowledge of the position of the forces, not 
from any recollection of what that order contained on that point. 

Q. Was or was not the messenger to whom you refer who bore that 
order a staff officer, Capt. Douglas Pope? 

A. I do not recollect; I do not think it^was. 

Q. You did not meet on the way, or take from the hands of any other 
staff officer on that day, an order from Gen. Pope to Gen. Porter except 
this one, did you ? 

A. No, sir ; and I did not take this from his hands in one sense — I ex- 
amined if, gave it back to him, and he went on his way ? 

Q. Is Capt. Pope personally known to you ? 

A. Yes, sir, he is. My impression is that it was not Capt. Pope ; btit I 
will not be confident. I do not remember who it was. 

Q. I will read you an order which is set forth in specification first of 
charge second. (The order was read accordingly.) Do j'^ou or not recog- 
nize that as the order which you saw and read ? 

A. I can only say that the order that I saw in passing was of that 
same import. Whether that is the order or not I cannot say. 

Q. You have said that the accused made an observation to you which 
showed that he was satisfied that the enemy was in his immediate front. 
Will you state what thut observation was? 

A. I do not know that I can repeat it exactly — and I do not know 
that the accused meant exactly what the remark might seem to imply. 
The observation was to this effect — (putting his hand in the direction of 



the dust rising above the tops of the trees) — " AVe cannot go in there any- 
where without getting into a fight ? 

Q. What reply did you make to that remark ? 

A. I think to this effect : " That is what we came here for." 

Q. Were there any obstacles in the way of the advance on the part of 
Gen. Porter's command upon the flank of the enemy ? 

A. That depends upon what you Avould call obstacles. A wood is an 
obstacle. 

Q. I mean insuperable obstacles, in a military sense ? 

A. I do not think we so regarded it at that time. I did not. 

Q. Was or was not the battle raging at that time ? 

A. The battle was raging on our right — that is, if you regard the line 
of the road from Bethlehem church to Gainesville to be substantially north- 
west. The battle was raging to the right and east of that line, at Grove- 
ton. 

Q. At what hour did you arrive upon the battle-field v-^ith your com- 
mand, and take part in the engagement? 

A. I cannot say as to hours. 

Q. As nearly as you can ? 

A. It was in the afternoon. I do not know at what time the sun set, 
I should not be able to fix the hour. It may have been 4 o'clock or 5 
o'clock. One of my divisions, which had been the day before up to 
Thoroughfare, and the day before that on a long march, extending to late 
in the night, and which had started that day, Friday, and had marched 
since one o'clock in the morning, had its rear guard some distence behind, 
and that rear guard did not get up to Manassas until the next morning, 
though it got within a couple of miles of that place. That was the rear 
guard of the corps, in that instance a brigade. 

Q. Did you or not afterwards see Gen. Porter during that engagement 
of the 29th? 

A. No sir, I did not. 

Q. Did he or not, with his command, take any part in that battle ? 

A. I do not know of my own knowledge. 

Q. What would probably have been the effect upon the fortunes of that 
battle, if, betweeu 5 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Gen. Porter, with his 
whole force, had thrown h'lnself upon the right wing of the enemy, as di- 
rected iu this order of 4.80 p. m. of the 29th of August, which has been 
read to you ? 

A. It is a mere opinion that you ask. 

Q. Yes, sir. 

A. I think it would have been decisive in our favor. 

Q. Did any considerable portion of the confederate forces attack Gen. 
Pope's left on Saturday, passing over the ground that Gen. Porter 
wou^l have passed over had he attacked the enemy's right on Friday ? 

A. I cannot say. They may have done so ; I do not know. 

Q. All the localities of which you have spoken in your testimony are in 
the State of Virginia, are they not ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 
Q. Will you say whether you found Gen. Porter's corp's in the position 
where you expected to find it, when you joined him the first time you saw 
him on the 29th of August ? 

7 



98 

A. I did not tliink anything about it — it was not a question witli me.. 

Q. State if, when you found him at the place where the joint order re- 
quired him to he, you stated to him, or thought, that you found in his 
front a different state of affairs than you had expected to find ? 

A. I do not recollect of such a statement. 

Q. Try to recollect if, upon that occasion, you did not say to him, in 
substance, that he was too far in the front, and that the position in which 
he was, was not a position in which to fight a battle, or anything to that 
effect ? 

A. I do not recollect. 

Q. Are you sure you did not. 

A. I have no recollection of any question about that place not being 
the one to fight a battle. Something may have been said about not going 
further towards Gainesville, with reference to falling behind Bull Run that 
night. 

Q. If anything was said in relation to the facility of getting back to 
Bull Run that night, and you remember whether it was that the accused 
was too far in the front, or would be too far in the front if he moved 
further on ? 

A. It was hardly a question of going further on. It was more a ques- 
tion of turning to tbe right and going against the enemy, then passing 
down the Warrenton turnpike. 

Q. You say that something might have been said by the accused about 
getting back to Bull Run. Are you to be understood as saying, from 
recollection, that he was told to keep in view his abiHty to get back to 
Bull Run ? 

A. That was the expression in the joint order, 

Q. Was it used by you ? 

A. We referred to that point. 

Q. When did you first see the order of which you have spoken in your 
testimony in chief — that of 4.30 p. m. of the 29th of August, which di- 
rected the accused to turn the right flank and attack the enemy in the 
rear, you have been understood as saying that that was the effect of the 
joint order. That is not your meaning, is it ? 

A. It was the effect of the joint order as modified by me, when I left 
Gen. Porter, so far as I had the power to modify that order, and so far as 
the understanding with which I left him at the time. 

Q. Are you to be understood as saying that before you saw the order 
to Gen. Porter of 4.30 p. m. of the 29th of August, you, under the discre- 
tion you supposed was reposed in you by the joint order to yourself and 
Gen. Porter, had directed him to attack the enemy's right flank and rear ? 

A. To that effect, yes, sir. I knew I had that discretion — I did not 
supjmse it. This is the clause under which I su2)posed — if you piefei' that 
term — I had that discretion: "If any considerable advantages are fto be 
gained by depai'ting from this order, it will not be strictly carried out." 
That joint oider contemplated General Portei's corps and my own to be 
employed differently from the way I had arrranged when 1 left General 
Porter, which arrangement was to separate them, leaving him above on 
the Gainesville road, whilst I went up the Sudley Spring road. 

Q. Did you, under that joint order, suppose that you were authorized 
to take any part of General Porter's command and place it in such a 
position that it would not have been in the power of his command to 
reach Bull Run that night or the following morning? 



99 

A. That question, if I understand it, did not com« upio my mind. The 
order itself stated that one thing was to be held in view. I will read that 
part of ihe order: "One thing must be held in view; that the troops must 
occupy a position from which they can reach Bull Run to night, or by 
morning." 

Q. Was it your understanding of that joint order of the 29th of August 
that you could, under that order, direct Gen. Porter to take his command 
into a position from which that "one thing" could not be accomplished? 

A. Certainly not. The order does not say that I should disobey the 
order. And that is what the question amounts to. 

Q. Have you any recollection that after you left the accused on the 
29th, and took with you King's division, the accused sent a message to 
you, requesting that that division should be permitted to staj with his 
command? 

A. I received no such message, 

Q. Will you say whether in consequence of a message or otherwise you 
sent a message to the accused, with your compliments, telling him that 
you were going to the right, and should take King with you, and that he, 
the accused, should remain where he was for the present, and if he had 
to fall back to do so on your left ? 

A. I do not recollect. 

Q. Are you able to say that you are certain that you did not send such 
a message ? 

A. That is my impression, that I did not, 

Q. What distance did you march with that portion of your command 
which you took to the battle field, from the point where you left the ac- 
cused to the point upon the battle field that you reached with that por- 
tion of your command ? 

A. Somewhere about 4 miles. 

Q. What road did you travel, or did you travel any route known as a 
road ? 

A. The troops went by the Sudley Spring road from Betcleham church. 

Q. When you left the accused, where you found him on the 29th of 
August, were you at that time advised that Longstreet's corps, or any 
other corps of the Confederate army was marching on to unite with the 
right of Jackson ? 

A. I did not know anything about Longstreet's corps or Jackson's 
corps. I have mentioned before tbat I received a note from Gen. Buford 
that 17 regiments, a battery, and 500 cavalry were marching from Gaines- 
ville upon Groveton. To whom they belonged or to whom they were 
going was not a matter of which I was informed. 

Q. Do you know now whether the information given by Gen. Buford 
in the note to which you have just referred was correct? 

A. I know nothing more now than I knew then. I believed it then to 
be correct. 

Q. Will you state, if the force to which Gen. Buford referred in his note 
actually passed through Gainesville at 30 minutes past 9 o'clock on the 
29th of August, how long you suppose it would have taken it to have 
joined the force in front which, as we J*ave supposed, was commanded by 
Jackson ? 

A. It would depend upon how fast they marched. 

Q. I know that. 

A. 1 do not know how fast they marched, so I cannot tell. 



100 

Q. How long would it have taken tbem if they had marched as fast as 
you think they could have marched ? 

A. I have formed no estimate as to how fast those troops can march. 

Q. If those troops, in fact, marched as fast as you have marched your 
own troops upon any occasion, bow long would it have taken them ? 

A. To go from Gainesville ? 

Q. Yes, sir. 

A. Without stop, without obstacles, formations, or checks of any kind, 
simply marching along the road ? 

Q. The question has reference to that country as it is, a distance of, as 
you say, about four miJes. 

A. It was somewhere between 4 and 6 miles. Troops march readily 
from two miles to two miles and a half an hour, if there is nothing to pre- 
vent them; if they are not disturbed by stopping up the roads with 
wagons, getting breakfast, or something of that kind. 

Q. From your knowledge of the actual condition of the country over 
which that force was supposed to be passing, can you tell whether there 
were any obstacles to their march; and if there were any, what were 
they? 

A. Not having gone over the road I do not know anything about the 
obstacles, one way or the other. 

Q. Do you know what was the average number of the regiments of the 
Confederates; each regiment, I mean ? 

A. Do you mean the strength of each regiment ? 

Q. Yes, sir. 

A. They consisted of all the men from 200, or even as low as 150, less 
to 1,000 or even 1,200. I have taken a great deal of pains at different 
times in examining deserters, scouts, spies, negroes, and prisoners, to ascer- 
tain that matter, and I find that nothing varies so much as the strength 
of the regiments on the other side. I have the impression that they were 
not very strong; that their average was certainly not greater than our 
own, if it was as great, but that it varies at different times. Before they 
had their conscriptions their regiments were quite full. I have no per- 
sonal knowledge of the matter at all. I give the sources from which I 
obtained this estimate. 

Q. Have you a knowledge now of what was the actual force of the 
enemy under the command of Jackson, or did you know that Jackson 
was in command of the enemy ? 

A. I did not know that Jackson was there. I have been told that he 
was there. I do not know what his force was. 

Q. And do you know or not what was the amount of the Confederate 
force that was coming up ? 

A. Coming up when and where ? 

Q. As stated in the note from General Buford. 

A. Nothing more than he told me in that note. 

Q. How long had you left the accused on the 29th of August when 
you saw the order dated at 4.30 p. m. of that day, which was handed you 
by some officers? 

A. I cannot tell. I do not recollect. I road from the head of his column 
back to the head of my own column, and as rapidly as I could get my 
troops into position on the other road, and waited until the larger part of 
them had entered upon that road, Tlien, on riding by them to go to the 
head of my column on the Sudley Spring road, I met this messenger. I 



101 ^ 

cannot tell how long all this took. I cannot fix the time when I left Gen. 
Porter, and of course cannot fix the time when I saw this messenger. 

Q. How oflen during this campaign of Gen. Pope in Virginia, of which 
you have spoken, had you seen the accused before you saw him on the 
29th of August? 

■ A. I had not seen him during that campaign before I saw him on the 
29th of August. 

Q. How Jong were you together during that interview of the 29th of 
August ? 

A. I cannot fix the exact time. We rode together some distance, per- 
haps a mile; perhaps it may have been more; I do not recollect now. 

Q. Was it 5, or 10, 15, or 20 minutes? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. Which? 

A. You may put it at 15 or 20 minutes. 

Q. During that conversation, that interview, did the accused say any- 
thiijg, or do anything, from which you inferred disloyalty upon his part, 
or unwillingness to perform his duty under the command of General 
Pope ? 

A. No, sir; what he said was the reverse. He professed to have but 
one feeling, which was that for the success of his country. This was said 
I think, in reference to the embarrassment which I have before alluded 
to, about Gen. King's division going under him, (Gen. Porter.) It was 
not a question with me about his loyalty or disloyalty. I never think of 
such things. What I mean is this : I assume everybody to be loyal. My 
suspicions do not run that way. The suspicions that persons who hold 
commissions as general oflicers in the army are disloyal, does not occur to 
me. 

Q. It is not recollected what you said in relation to the embarrassment 
you speak of growing out of King's division being under General Porter's 
command. Will you state what it was that you understood him to refer 
to? 

A. The embarrassment was rather on my side than on his. The em- 
barrassment I refer to was this : I came down to take King's division and 
bring it up along with my other division, that is with Reynold's divisions, 
then engaged at Groveton. I found it with an order to go under General 
Porter in another direction. That was what produced the embarrassment. 
General Porter had nothing to do with that embarrassment. I may say 
that we were both erabarassed — I at finding one of my division! under 
his command, and he at finding himself under my command. I do not 
know that '' embarrassment " is the proper word to use. What I meant 
was that I found things diff"erent from what I expected to find. When I 
spoke of one of my divisions going under him, he suggested that I was 
the senior officer, as between himself and myself, and that I could take 
the command of the whole force, his corps and my own force. And we 
went forward at first in that way, before this joint order reached me. 

I did not go to that place expecting to find General Porter. I went 
there to find my own division, and I found General Porter there with an 
order to take one of my divisions under his command. That was not 
foreseen by the General-in-Chief of that army, who was absent. And the 
matter was solved in the way I have stated, I commanding General Por- 
ter's corps and my own division. We then received the joint order which 
directed the very things which we had ourselves done. The order waa 



102 

sent by Gen, Pope upon the receipt of a note from me, in reference to this 
matter of my division. 

Q. Do you know from what point King^s division liad marched on that 
day, or the day before, in order to get to the point where you found it on 
the 29th of August ? 

A. It had marched from some point, or some place, on the Warrenton 
turnpike, between Gainesville and Groveton, where it had an engagement 
with the enemy back to Manassas Junction, having left, as I was inform- 
ed by Gen. Reynold's, about one o'clock on the morning of Friday, the 
29th of August. It had been ordered the day before to march from 
Buckland Mills, which is beyond Gainesville, to Manassas Junction. 
Before it had reached Bethlehem church, it was ordered to move on lo 
Centreville, in compliance with orders from General Pope, and had been 
sent from the road — or I do not know that it was on any road, but from 
the position where the order reached it, north to the Warrenton turnpike, 
and thence to move along that pike to Centreville. It had become en- 
gaged with the enemy in the evening, and then, as I have before stated, 
fell back the next morning, starting at 1 o'clock, as I understood from 
Gen. Reynolds. These tacts I learned on the morning of f>iday, the 29th 
from Gen. Reynolds, who had been personally with King's division, had 
ridden over to it the night before. 

Q. Do you recollect whether you informed the accused at that inter- 
view, that Gen. Rickett's had been driven from Thoroughfare Grap, and 
that Gen. King had been driven from Gainesville by the enemy ? 

A, I do not recollect having used such expressions. I recollect having 
informed him of the fact that Gen. King's division, as I had learned fron;i 
Gen. Reynolds, had fallen back that morning, and also that Gen. Rickett's 
division had fallen back from Thoroughfare Gap. At the time I saw Gen. 
Porter, I had not got up with either of these divisions, I found them 
after my interview with him. 

Q. Did you then know that Generals Rickett's and King had met with 
the enemy, the one at Thoroughfare Gap, and the other at or near Gaines- 
ville, and that they were then falling b.ick in consequence of the enemy 1 

A. I knew they had met the enemy the night before. But at the time 
I met Gen, Porter, I knew nothing of the details of the engagements 
which they had had with the enemy; nor do I recollect having said to 
Gen, Porter, or having known anything about the motives for General 
King's falling back to Manassas from this position on the road between 
Gainesville and Groveton. I have an idea that there was a question of 
supplies connected with the falling back from that point. General Rey- 
nolds had told me that he had told Gen. King that he would be along side 
of him in the morning. At the time I saw Gen, Porter, the whole sub- 
ject of the engagement of the evening before, except the mere fact that 
there had been an engagement, was unknown to me ; I mean the details 
in I'cgard to those engagements. 

Q. You have stated, or have been understood to have stated, that when 
you were with the accused on the 29th of August, the battle was going 
on, and you could hear it. Will you state if you heard any other firing 
than that of artillery ? 

A. I do not recollect about that now. The noise was very decided and 
distant from where we were I should suppose about 4 miles. 

Q. Do you know now when the infantry firing on that day commenc- 
ed ; was it or not about 4 o'clock ? 



^73 

103 

A. I think it was mncli earlier than that. I have only one thing to 
^uide me, and that is General Reynold's report. I can refer to that and 
find out more paiticularly, if it is desired. 

The examination by the accused was here closed. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, December 13, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 
Major General D. Hunter, United States volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General Rufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

« Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" J. P. Slough, « 

and 

Colonel J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 
The accused and his counsel, being also present. 

The examination of Maj. Gen. Irwin McDowell was then resumed, as 
follows : 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. Did or did not General Porter put his troops in action at the point in- 
dicated by you, at the time he said he could not go in anywhere there 
without getting into a fight ? 

A. Of my own knowledge I know nothing of what General Porter did 
after I left him. 

Q. In departing from a strict obedience to the joint order of the 29th 
of August, did you, or not, extend that departure beyond your own imme- 
diate command ; that is, did you change the order with respect to General 
Porter's corps ? 

A. General Porter and I started out from Manassas with the under- 
standing that, under the article of war, appliable. to such cases, I had the 
command of the whole force — bis own and va.-^ own — we, each of us, re- 
ceived a joint order from General Pope, our then Commander-in-Cheif, 
which order, whilst it did not at the time change the relations between 
General Porter and myself, seemed to imply that those relations were not 
to be constant — were not to continue. I decided, under the latitude al- 
lowed in that order, that General Porter should put his troops into the 
right of where the head of his column then lay; and that I should take 
mine away from the road on which our two commands then lay up the 
Sudley Spring road into the battle, in this way dissolving the joint opera- 
tions of our two corps ; and from the moment I left Geneml Porter, I con- 
sidered he was no longer under my immediate control, or under ray im- 
mediate command, or my direct orders, but that he came under those of 



104 

mir common Commander-in-Chief, we not then being on the same imme- 
diate ground. 

The article to which I refer is the 62d Article of War, which directs 
that when troops happen to meet, the senior officer commands the whole 
I considered that article of war to apply up to the time that I left Gen. 
Porter, and broke my- command away from his, after which I conceived 
that his relations were direct to the Commander-in-Chief. Therefore, in 
answer to the question, to that extent I did interfere with his corps, by 
separating mine from it, and also by indicating where I thought his corps 
ought to be applied against the enemy. 

Q. Did you report to Gen. Pope any change you had made in the ope- 
ration of that joint order ? 

A. No farther than by bringing my troops up, reporting to him that 
they were there, and receiving his orders. His order to Gen, Porter direct 
met me on ray way to join the main army. I did not know at that time 
that Gen. Pope was at tliat particular place. 

Q. When you saw the order from Gen. Pope to Gen. Porter, the one 
subsequent to the joint order, did you give, or had you given, any order 
to Gen. Porter which would interfere with his obedience to it ? 
A. None. 

Q. The orders you had given to Gen. Porter were not in opposition, or at 
least not of a different character, from the one that came to him from Gen. 
Pope? 

A. They concurred. The arrangements that T supposed to exist when 
I left Gen. Porter concurred with the order which I afterwards saw fioia 
Gen. Pope to Gen. Porter. They were to the same effect, except as to 
details which Gen. Pope may have given. I gave no details. 

Q. Would or would not the presence of Gen. Pope, an officer superior 
in command to both yourself and Gen. Porter, render inoperative or inap- 
plicable the article of war to which you have referred ? 

A. It would depend upon his presence, whether it was immediate or not. 

Q. We speak of such presence as existed then. 

A. We did not so consider it. Gen. Pope, according to the note we 
received, was at Centreville, which I suppose was some six miles off, and 
we were going away from him. I will mention farther that the day be- 
fore nearly a similar case happened, when Gen. Sigel and myself were to- 
gether at Buckland Mills, and I commanded Gen. Sigel. That was done 
by a direct order from Gen Pope, before given. Still it would have been 
the same if he had not given that order. 

Q. Could the accused have engaged in the battle, according to your 
order and according to the subsequent order of Gen. Pope, and still have 
fallen back to Bull Kun within the time named in the joint order to your- 
self and the accused? 

A Yes, sir. 

Q. From your knowledge of the nature of the country between Gen. 
Porter's column and the forces engaged on the 29tli of August, was there 
anything to have prevented the accused from making an attack upon the 
enemy's right or rear, as directed by Gen. Pope ? If so, state what it was. 

A. My knowledge of the country is derived principally, first, from hav- 
ing gone over the railroad from Manassas to Gainesville in a car, or on a 
locomotive, which gave me but little idea of it, as I was engaged, whilst 
going over, with matters which prevented my paying attention to the 
country ; next, in marching from Buckland Mills to Gainesville, and from 



105 



/?^ 



Gainesville east along the "Warrenton turnpike for a mile or two, I do 
not remember the exact distance ; then turning off to the right and south 
and going across the country to Bethlehem church, and theuce to Manas- 
sas ; then from the fact that Gen. Reynold's division, which had the lead 
on the occasion that I refer to, going from Gainesville towards Groveton, 
had gone farther on that road than I went myself, had turned to the right 
and gone towards Bethlehem church, and from the fact that Gen. King's 
division, which had gone on that same road towards Groveton fiom 
Gainesville, and had turned down south of that road, had again gone north 
on to that road, had engaged the enemy at a certain place, had fallen back 
to Manassas from that place, which place I learned was nearly reached, if 
not quite, on Friday, the day of the battle, by the troops moving from Grove- 
ton west ; and from the fact that the enemy's force had moved to the south 
CD Saturday, and turned our left on that day. These movements by these 
two divisions of my corps, my own movements, and the movemeuis of the 
enemy give me the belief that troops could move through the country 
comprised between the Warrenton turnpike and the Sudley Spring load, 
and the load from Bethlehem church to Gainesville. I will mention fur- 
ther that that country is a mixture of woods, cleared ground, and hills, 
and that it is easy for troops to march without being seen, or seeing the 
enemy. 

Q. Does the country, which you have just described, inchide that over 
which Gen. Porter was required to march in obeying the order of 4.30 p. 
m. from Gen. Pope, to attack the enemy ? 

A. Yes, sir. I would say that I do not know that order by that hour. 

Q. Please state tlie ground ou which you formed the opinion that, if 
the accused had attacked the right wing of the rebels, as he was ordered, 
the battle Avould have been decisive in our favor ? 

A. Because, on the evening of that day, I thought the result was deci- 
dedly in our favor, as it was. But, admitting that it was merely equally 
balanced, I think, and thought, that if the corps of Gen, Porter, reputed 
one of the best, if not the best, in the service, cousisling of between 20 
and 30 regiments and some 8 batteries, had been added to the efforts made 
by the others, the result would have been in our favor, very decidedly, 

Q. Was there anything besides mere advantage in numbers from 
which that result would have followed ? 

A. And posiiion. 

Q. What particular advantage in position was there ? 

A. The position in which that force would have been applied, while the 
main body was so hotly engaged in front, would have been an additional 
powerful reason for so supposing. 

Q. When the accused said to you that he could not go in anywhere there 
without getting into a fight, did he or not appear to be averse to engag- 
ing the enemy ? 

A. I cannot say that it made that impression on me ; though, in giving 
my answer, I took the view that he did so imply, and made the remark ; 
but 1 did not think he was averse to engaging the enemy. I mean by that, 
that that was not seriously a question with me, for when I left him, I 
thought he was going to engage, and would engage the enemy- 

Q. Had General Porter taken part in the action of August 29th, would 
you not have been likely to have known it ? 

A. I heard that he did fire some artillery, and I did not hear his fire. 
So that he might have gone into action without my knowing it at that 



106 

time ; because where I was, there was a great deal of noise, and tlie noise 
that his engagement might have made, might have been iu a direction 
■which would have con founded it with othei- noise. 

Q. Up to what hour did the battle continue on that day, and how long 
v/as your command engaged in it ? 

A. It continued till after dark ; or continued to such an hour in the 
evening when you could see the flash, rather than the smoke. Of my com- 
mand, part of King's division was actively engaged to the front, for I should 
think something like an hour, it may have been more, before the battle ter- 
minated. I speak of the active collision. After my division got up, it 
was marched and countermarched, which caused it to lose some time be- 
fore it could be applied. I had it ordered it to go to the left of Reynold's divi- 
sion, and it moved in that direction ; then o;ders came from General Pope 
for it to come back on the Sudley Spring road ; then to go west along the 
Warrenton turnpike after, what I was informed, was the retreating enemy. 

Q. Please indicate, or as nearly as you can, upon the map the point on 
the Gainesville and Manassas road at which you left the accused, on the 
29th of August, when you proceeded with your command to the battle- 
field; and state whether or not, in the military sense of the term, be was 
then in the presence of the enemy ? 

A. [Referring to the map before the Court.] I do not know that this 
map is altogether correct. It was made at my headquarters, at Arlington ; 
but as far as I can rec(jllect, the topographical engineer had much difficul- 
ty in locating some of these roads. 1 do not know that he has got them 
all down, or that he has them correctly laid down. I know there is a road 
that goes from Manassas Junction, intersecting the Sudley Spring road, at 
a place near which there is a little chapel or «hurch called Bethlehem 
Chapel, and goes along south of the Manassas railroad to Gainesville. 
Whether the roads cross each other, as laid down here, I do not know. I 
left the head of my column with one brigade, I think, past Bethlehem 
church. General Porter's corps was on the road leading from Bethlehem 
chuich to Gainesville, and the rear of it was at a distance from Bethlehem 
church sufficient for the larger part, if not the whole, of one of my brigades 
to occupy that road. I should suppose his column occupied perhaps three 
miles of tbe road. A little in advance of the head of his column, near 
where I left General Porter, I considered him then in the presence of the 
enemy. 

Q. How long would it have taken General Porter to engage the enemy 
from the point at whicb you left him ? 

A. Tbat is difficult to say. It did not, at the time, seem to either of us 
that it would require much time for the head of his column to become en- 
gaged. It would depend so much upon the dis|X)sitions he might make, 
and tlie dispositions the enemy might make, that it would be difficult to 
say. I should think that an hour would have been sufficient to have com- 
menced an engagement, as things then appeared. 

Q. What was the distance from the iiead of the column of General 
Porter to the right flank of the enemy, at the time that you turned off in 
the Sudley Spring road ; and was there or not time before dark for Gen. 
Poiter to have attacked and turned tlic right flank of the enemy, had he 
moved with promptness and rapidity after having received the order of 
4.30 p. m , or the order which tbe aide-de-camp of General Pope showed 
to you ? 

A. At the time that I turned off" on the Sudley Spring road, I do not 



107 ' ^ 

know how far the head of General Porter's column was from the right 
flank of the enemy. I do not know at what time he received the order 
named in the question as that of 4.30 p. m., or the one which the aide-de- 
camp of General Pope showed me. I do not know that it was an aide-de- 
camp of General Pope who showed me the order that I saw. If General 
Porter's head of column remained where I saw it when I left that head of 
column, and if it had turned off to the right at that time, or soon after 
that time, and moved with promptness and rapidity, I think it might have 
reached the enemy soon. 

Q. When you left General Porter for the purpose of taking the Sudley 
Spring road, did you or not expect that he would attack the enemy as soon 
as he could reach them ; and did you or not consider it his duty to do it ? 

A. I have already said as much ; I think, at least, I meant to say it. 

Q. Had thf accused made a vigorous attack with his force on the right 
flank of the enemy, at any time before the battle closed, would or would 
not, in your opinion, the decisive result in favor of the Union aimy, of 
which you have spoken, have followed ? 

A. I think it would. 

Q. From the time you separated from General Porter, on the 29th of 
August, how far did your troops march before engaging in the battle ; and 
how long were they engaged in that battle ? 

A. The leading brigade of my troops was, I think, nearly, if not quite 
its whole distauce oti the Gainesville road, beyond the intersection of that 
road with the Sudley Spring road, near ihe Bethlehem Chapel. It marched 
back and got on to the Sudley Spring road, and man-.hed along the Sudley 
Spring road until it came near the Warrenton turnpike. Some of the bri- 
gades then marched west, south of daat turnpike, in compliance with or- 
ders that I gave them to engage on Reynold's left. They were brought 
back from the place they had reached, which may have been the dis- 
tance of the larger part of a mile, back to the Sudley Spring road. They 
then marched north on that road to the Warrenton turnpike, thence west 
on that turnpike a distance, perhaj^s of about a mile. If the distauce from 
Bethlehem Church to the Warrenton turnpike be assumed to be 3 or 4 
miles, then my troops must have marched, before they came in contact 
with the enemy, between 5 and 6 miles. I should think they were en- 
gaged for about an hour — I cannot measure the time ; it is very diflScult 
to do it under those circumstances. Sometimes the hours go very fast — 
sometimes they go away slowly. 

The examimation by the Court here closed. 

Examination renewed by the accused : 

Q. Do you know now, or did you know when you left the accused on 
the 29th of August, if what has been called in the testimony Longstrcet's 
corps had joined the enemy on the right, how far that would have ex- 
tended their line to the right? 

A. I do not know, 

Q. Was there, between their right and the command of the accused, 
any road over which he could have marched his command, in order to 
comply with the order of 4.30 p. m. ? 

A. I do not know that there was; I do not know that there was not ? 

Q. Do you know whether the order of 4.30 p. m. required the accused, 
for the purpose of executing that ordc^r, to take with him his batteries ? 

A. As I said before, I recollect only the general import and purport of 



108 

that order, whicli was to the effect that Gen. Porter was to make an 
attack where I supposed he was goiug to make it when I left him. 

Q. Yon have stated, if correctly understood, that the corps of the ac- 
cused was oue of the best on the field, consisting of artillery about, as you 
supposed, eight batteries, and that the effect of that corps, with those eight 
batteries, upon the right Hank and rear of the enemy, would have changed 
ihe fortunes of the day. Do you mean to say now that the fortunes of 
the daj would have been changed, if he had made the attack without his 
batteries ? 

A. 1 believe it would. 

Q. Do you know what was the number of his infantry ? 

A. I only know this: that he had what used to be his own division 
(then MorcU's) and Sykes' division of regulars. I have been told that he 
had more than that . I did not know it at the time. I had seen his corps 
defiled — I haa passed along by it. I had not counted the regiments, but 
I gained a general impression of his corps in that way. It struck me very 
favorably. I had known the corps before. If you wish to know specifi- 
cally if 1 knew the precise number of regiments, or the number of men, I 
did not know. 

Q. Will you look at that order, dated 4.30 p. m., August 29th, and set 
out in specification first of charge second, and say whether that order did 
not require the accused to use his batteries ? 

A. It so specifies : " Keep heavy reserves and use your batteries." 

Q. Now, as a military man, will you say to the Court whether, if he 
had made an attack with his infantry and without his batteries, and had 
been defeated, he would not have been liable to the charge of having vio- 
lated that order ? 

The question was objected to by a member of the Court. 

The accused stated, in support of the legal admissibility of that ques- 
tion, that upon various occasions, and in reference to various questions 
touching the construction of the orders mentioned in the specifications, 
and touching the cous-equences of a compliance with or disobedience of 
those orders, military officers, who have been examined as witnesses, have 
been asked by the Judge Advocate and by the Court, without objection 
on the part of the accused, other than he supposed he would have the 
same privilege, what their opinions were. 

The accused also states that, as far as any objection exists in the mind 
of any member of this Court, or in the minds of the Court, as to the rele- 
vancy of the facts wliich the question seeks to elicit, he proposes to show 
that the character of the country which must have been traversed in order 
to carry out the order stated to have been given by Gen. McDowell, the 
witness under examination, to the accused, on the 29th of August, to turn 
the enemy's right fiank and attack him in the rear, or the order of 4.30 
p. m. of that day, was such that he could not have carried his artillery 
into action, so as to comply with either of those orders. 

He proposes also to prove that at the time he received the order of 4.30 
p. m. from the commander-in-chief, the enemy's right, by the junction of 
the force of Longstreet with the original right, was so extended that he 
could not have complied with that order in time to have made the attack 
contemplated by that order. 

He al>o proposes to prove, in connection with the same question, that 
as he was then actually situated at the moment he received that order, 



yyc 



109 



the enemy were in liis immediate front, and that if he had atttempted to 
have executed that order, he might have been cut off. 

For these reasons the accused respectfully submits to the Court his right 
to propound to the witness under examination the question objected to. ^ 

A MEMBER of the Court said : That as be understood the rulings of this 
Couit, all opinions of witnesses on tbe construction of orders, or on any 
matters that are actually before the Court, would be inadmissible; for in 
that case the Court are to judge. But all matter of opinion, based on 
facts which tbe witness himself knew, and from which he drew his opinion 
as a collected judgment, which same basis of opinion is not possessed by 
the Court, such opinions would be admissible. 

The Court was thereupon cleared. 

After some time the Court was re-opened, whereupon — 

Tbe Judge advocate announced that the Court determine that the wit- 
ness shall not answer the question. 

Examination continued by the accused. 

Q. You have stated what you suppose to have been the length of march 
made by that part of your command which was under your immediate 
command, in order to get to the battle of the 29th, as being some five or 
six miles ; and you have stated generally the roads which your troops on 
that march traversed. Was their march made upon roads exclusively, or 
was any part of it ; and, if so, what part of it made through the country 
on either side of any of those roads ? 

A. It was not exclusively on roads, but the larger part of it was. It 
was on a road from Bethlehem church to near the Warrenton turnpike. 
It was not on a road for those brigades which were sent from the Sudley 
Spring road across the country, to operate on Reynold's left; nor on roads 
coming back from that position to the Sudley Spring road. It was on 
roads the rest of the distance I have described. 

Q. Was the country over which a portion of your troops marched, 
other than on roads, an open one or not ; and what distance had they to 
march ? 

A. It was mostly open, about two miles, or perhaps less ; was over a 
country mostly open, with some woods, some bushes, and fields and fences. 

Q. Will you state what, in your opinion, would have been the lesult of 
the battle of the 29th of August, if the accused had attempted to execute 
the order of 4.30 p. m., to attack the enemy on his right flank and in the 
rear, if he, the accused, had been defeated \ 

A. To have defeated General Porter in that attack, would have required 
a large force of the enemy, which would have relieved the attack in front, 
and, J think, Avould have still resulted in a success to our side, to our army 
generally. 

Q. Then are we to understand you as saying that a failure of the at- 
tack, contemplated by the order of 4.30 p. m., had it been made, would not 
have materially aflfected the fate of the day? 

A. 1 have stated that even if the attack had been made, and had failed, 
it only could have failed by a very large force of the enemy attacking it, 
and that would so much relieved the front as to have gained a success for 
the army generally. 

Q. Are we to understand you as saying that the battle of the 29th of 
August, terminated at any particular hour of the night of the 29th, and 
if so, at what hour of that night ? 



110 

A. I do not think I have mentioned any hour. 

Q. Can you now tell at what hour of that night it terminated ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. How long after dark ? 

A. It terminated at that time when the flash is seen, rather than the 
smoke. 

Q. Are you of the opinion that the 62d Article of War placed the ac- 
cused, when you joined him on the 29th of August, under your immedi- 
ate command ? 

A. I think I stated that it was at the suggestion of the accused, that I, as 
his senior took command of his force and my own. Of course it was only 
under the 62d Article of War that I could do so. 

Examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. In your own movements on the 29th of August, had you artillery, 
and did your artillery, if you had any, move with your other troops? 
A. Yes, sir. 

Examination of this witness was here closed. 

Whereupon the Court adjourned until 11a. m., on Monday next. 



Washington, D. C. 

December 15 th, 1862. 

The Court met'pursuant to adjournment. 
, Present: 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 
Brigadier Gen. Rufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, " 

" J. P. Slough, " 

and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. !/(■' 

The accused, with his counsel, also being present. 
The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 
The examination of Major General Irvin McDowell was then re- 
sumed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. From the extent of ground occupied by Gen. Porter^ corps, how 
many men had he do you suppose? 

A. Somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000; say 12,000. 

Q. When you parted from the accused to proceed to your own corps, 
were you and he alone together, or did you observe other persons within 
hearing of your couversation ? 

^•1. We were not alone ; some of my statF were with me, and I think 



Ill 



/77 



some of Geti. Porter's staff were ^ith him. How near they were, whether 
they could hear or not, I cannot say. 

Q. As you rode away did you hear the accused address any observa- 
tion to you in a raised tone of voice, as if calling after you to be heard? 

A. I do not recollect hearing any such observation in a raised tone of 
voice. 

Q. Can you recollect who of your staff were with you, or in that im- 
mediate vicinity, at that time ? 

A. I can give one name, and he perhaps can then state about the others 
better than I can. The staff were from me in such a way that it would 
be difficult for me to tell what particular persons were there at that par- 
ticular time. T think Captain Cutting was with me. I know there were 
others. I could find out upon inquiry; but at this moment I am not able 
to give' the names. 

Q. During the conversation which you bad with the accused, in which 
you mentioned to him your direction that he should put bis troops in, did 
you at the time suppose that other persons were within hearing of that 
conversation? 

A. I think I have answered that question. 

Q. The previous question related to the time of parting from General 
Porter ; this relates to the time that you held this conversation. 

A, The conversation, in which I told him to put his troops in there, 
was immediately before I left him. 

Q. When you left him were you both in the woods? 

A. In which woods? 

Q. In the woods which were near to the headquarters of the accused, 
on the opposite side of the railroad ; the patch of woods there. 

A. My impression is that I had not crossed the railroad when I left 
General Porter — that is my impression. I may have crossed it and come 
back. I paid no attention to those things at the time. 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

The Judge Advocate submitted in evidence the following, purporting 
to be a copy of a despatch sent from Gen. Porter to Gen. Buruside, which 
was read. 

" Warrenton Junction, 4 p. m., Axigust 27. 
" General Burnside, Falmouth. 

"I send you the lastorder from General Pope, which indicates the futuic 
as well a.s the present. Wagons are rolling along rapidly to the war, as 
if a mighty power was propelling them. I see no cause for alarm — 
though I think this order may cause it. McDowell moves to Gainesville, 
where Sigel now is. The latter got to Buckland bridge in time to put 
out the fire. I kick the enemy, who is pursuing his route unmolested to 
the Shenandoah or London county. The forces are Longstreet's, A. P. 
Hiir^, Jackson's, Whiting's, Ewell's, and Anderson's (late Huge r's) divi- 
sions. Longstreet is said by a deserter to be very strong. They have 
much artillery and long wagon trains. The raid on the railroad was near 
Cedar Run, and made by a regiment of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, 
and a section of artillery. The place was guarded by nearly three regi- 
ments of infantry and some cavalry. They routed the guard, captured a 
train and many men, destroyed the bridge, and retired leisurely down the 
road towards Manassas. It can easily be repaired. No troops are com- 
ing up except new troops, that I can hear of. Sturgis is here with two 



112 

regiments. Four were cut of by the raid. The position of the troops 
are given in the order. No enemy in our original front. A letter of 
General Lee, seized when Stewart's A. A, G. was taken, directs Stewart 
to leave a squadron only to watch in front of Hanover Junction, &c. 
Everything has moved up north. I find a vast difference between their 
troops and ours, but I suppose they were new, as to day they burnt their 
clothes, &c., when their was not the least cause. I hear that they are 
much demoralized, and needed some good troops to give them heart, and 
I think head. 

"We are marching now to get behind Bull Run, and I presume will be 
there in a few days if strategy don't use us up. The strategy is mag- 
nificent, and tactics in inverse proportion. I would like some of my 
ambulances. I would like also to be ordered to return to Fredericksburg 
and to push towards Hanover, or with a larger force to strike at Orange 
Court-House. I wish Sumner was at Washington, and up near the 
Mouocacy, with good batteries. I do not doubt the enemy have large 
amount supplies provided for them ; and I believe they have a contempt 
fur this army of Virginia. I wish myself away from it, with all our old 
army of the Potomac, and so do our companions. I was informed to-day 
by the best authority that in opposition to Gen. Pope's views this army 
was pushed out to save the army of the Potomac, an army that could 
take the best care of itself, Pope says he long since wanted to go behind 
the Occoquan. 

" I am in great need of ambulances ; and the officers need medicines, 
which for want of transportation were left behind. I hear many of the 
sick of my corps are in houses on the road very sick. I think there is no 
fear of an enemy crossing the Rappahannock. The cavalry are all in the 
advance of the rebel army. At Kelly's and Burnett's ford much property 
was left in consequence of the wagons going down for grain, (fee. If you 
can push up the grain to-night please do so direct to this place. There 
is no grain here or anywhere, and this army is wretchedly supplied in 
that line. Pope says he never could get enough. 

"Most of this is private; but if you can get me away please do so. Make 
what use of this you choose, so it does good. 

(Signed) F. J. PORTER. 

"After telegraphing this dispatch will be sent to Gen. Burnside." 

The accused admitted that the paper just read was a dispatch he 
desired to send to Gen. Burnside, but he did not know that it had been 
actually transmitted. 

Theodore E. Moreland was then called by the Government, and 
sworn'and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state to the Court whether or not you were in the public 
service on the 27th of August last; and, if so, in what capacity? 

A. I went down about the 20th of August, as a telegraph operator and 
to build the line out that way. 

Q. W^here were you on the 2'7th of August last ? 

A. I should judge I was about 20 miles beyond Fredericksburg. 

Q. Will you look at this dispatch (handing witness one submitted in 



/7g 

113 

evidence by the Judge Advocate, and read this morning) and say whether 
or not you have any recollection of having sent it? 

A. (After examining dispatch) I sent that message. 

Q. Was or was not the original in the handwriting of the accused? 

A. Yes, sir ; I should think it was. 

Q. What disposition was made of the original ? 

A. Gen. Porter requested that it should be handed to the oflBcer — a 
major, I believe — who brought it down to have it sent by mail to General 
Burnside at Falmouth ; and I delivered the original to him. 

A. And in consequence of that the original was not retained by you ? 

A. No, sir ; it was not. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed- 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Do you recollect (handing witness original of dispatch) that par- 
ticular part of the telegram as having been transmitted by you ? 
The portion referred to was read as follows : 

" Don't let the alarm here disturb you. If you had a good force you 
could go to Richmond. A force should at once be pushed on to Manassas 
to open the road, Our provisions are very short." 

A. No, sir ; I do not know as I do remember that — -though I may 
probably have sent it. 

Q. Can you state that there is any particular passage of that dispatch 
that you specially recollect having transmitted to Gen. Burnside ? 

A. Yes, sir ; Where General Porter says that he can make what use of 
this dispatch that he pleases, 

Q. You remember that. 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you at any time convey an intimation to the accused from Gen. 
Burnside to the effect that Gen. Burnside desired the accused to send him 
information by telegraph Irom time to time ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Will you look at that paper (handing paper to witness,) and say if 
it be the order of Gen. PopL', which is referred to and commented upon 
in the telegraphic message, which has just been proved and placed upon 
record, and which was transmitted at the same time with the dispatch ? 

At this stage of the proceedings. 

The President of the Court said that this court martial had, up to 
this time, been pursuing a course never heretofore practiced by courts 
martial, viz., the allowing the counsel for the accused to themselves ad- 
dress the Court. Being satisfield that it had tended in many respects to 
produce delay he (the President of the Court) was desirous of returning 
to the usual and established practice of courts martial, and have the ac- 
cused himself address the Court. 

The accused s jd that he hoped this Court Martial would continue the 
practice heretofore adopted by it. He was ignorant of a large portion of 
the forms and technicalities of law and unable himself to conduct his own 
case. Should this Court deternaine to return to the old practice, he would 
necessarily be compelled to resort to the old system of writing out all his 
inteiTOgatories to witnesses before submitting his questions to them. 



114 

That, lie thought, would produce a great deal more delay than is now 
experienced. He believed the course now being pursued had conduced to 
a more rapid execution of the work before the Court, and probably to the 
better administration of jusiice. He certainly had no desire to delay the 
proceedings in any way, and was as anxious as the Court could be to do 
all that would enable it to speedily complete the business before it. He 
desired, as he knew the Court desired, to have the truth brought out by 
this trial. But he was satisfied that, should the Court return to the old 
custom, a great deal more delay would be the result than by following the 
course this Court had hitherto adopted. 

The accused farther submitted (through his counsel, by permission of 
the Court) that he had been advised by his counsel to accede to the prop- 
osition made by the Judge Advocate, at the commencement of this trial, 
to depart from the usual custom of courts martial, as appearing to them to 
be likely to conduce to a more enlightened administration of justice. His 
counsel had attributed this departure from tlie usual custom to the perhaps 
unexampled fact that this court martial had had the opportunity to reduce 
to writing all oral statements with the same rapidity with which the oral 
statement itself was made. This, within their knowledge, had never be- 
fore been the case. It combined the exactness of written statement with 
all the facility of oral statement, and to them appeared to be a great and 
substantial advantage over the old custom. Heretofore, as his counsel 
sujiposed, the practice of court martial, in requiring all statements and 
suggestions to be reduced to writing before the same were submitted to 
the Court, was with a view to perfect exactness and regularity of proce- 
duie. The old practice was waived by this court martial solely by reason 
of the fact that a stenographer of acknowledged eminent ability had been 
produced by the Judge Advocate, with the consent of the Court, at the 
commencement of this trial in order to facilitate the execution of the 
labors before them. 

The accused further suggests, for the consideration of the Court, that 
his counsel advise him that they fear, should the Court return to the old 
practice, they will often be under the necessity of consuming the time of 
the Court while they prepare m writing the questions they desire the ac- 
cused to propound to the witness under examination. While his counsel 
deem it is not necessary for them to assure the Court that they will use all 
possible haste, and delay the Court as little as possible, they fear great de- 
tention will unavoidably result from a resort to the old practice of courts 
martial. 

The Court was thereupon cleared. 

After some time, the Court was reopened, and 

The Judge Advocate announced the decision of the Court to be that 
the questioning of witnesses should continne as heretofore, by this court 
martial, but the counsel for the accused slioald address no argument to the 
Court, but by express pennission from the Court. 

The examination of the witness upon the stand (Theodore E. Moreland) 
was resumed by the accused. 

Q. (Repeated.) Will you look at that paper (handing paper to witness) 
and say if it be the order of Gen. Pope which is referreil to and com- 
mented upon in the telegraphic message which has just been proved and 
placed upon record, and which was transmitted at the same time with the 
dispatch ? 



<7f 



115 



A. (After examining the paper.) I believe that is the same order that 
accompanied the dispatch. 

The paper was then read, as follows : 

" Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

Warrenton Junction^ August 27, 1862, 

General Orders, No. — 

The following movement of troops will be made, viz : 

Maj. Gen. McDowell, with his own and Sigel's corps and the division of 
Brig. Gen. Reynolds, will pursue the turnpike from Warrenton to Gaines- 
ville, so as to reach Gainesville if possible, to-night. 

The army corps of Gen. Heintzelman, with the detachment of the 9th 
corps, under Maj. Gen. Reno, (Gen, Reno leading,) will take the road from 
Catlett's Station to Greenwich, so as to reach there to-night, or early in the 
morning. Maj. Gen. Reuo will immediately communicate with Maj. Gen. 
McDowell and his command, as well as that of Maj. Gen. Heintzelman, 
will support Maj. Gen. McDowell in any operations against the enemy. 

Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter will remain at Warrenton Junction till he 
is relieved by Maj. Gen. Banks, when he will immediately push forward 
with his corps in the direction of Greenwich and Gainesville, to assist the 
operations of the right wing. 

Major General Banks, as son as he arrives at Warrenton Junction, will 
assume the charge of the trains and cover their movement towards Ma- 
nanassas Junction. The train of his own corps, under escort of two regi- 
ments of infantry and a battery of artillery, will pursue the road south of 
the railroad, which conducts into the rear of Manassas Junction. As soon 
as the trains have passed Warrenton Junction, he will take post behind 
Cedar Run, covering the fords and bridges of that stream, and holding 
the position as long as possible. He will cause all the railroad trains to 
be loaded with the public and private stores now here and run back 
towards Manassas Junction as far as the railroad is practicable. Wherever 
a bridge is burned so as to impede the further passage of the railroad 
trains, he will assembln them all as near together as possible, and piotect 
them with his command until the bridges are rebuilt. If the enemy is too 
strong before him before the bridge can be repaired, he will be careful to 
destroy entirely the train, locomoiives and stores, before he falls back in 
the direction of Manassas Junction. He is, however, to understand that 
he is to defend his position as long as possible, keeping himself in constant 
communication witli Maj. Gen. Porter on his right. If any sick, now in 
hospital at Warrenton Junction, are not provided for and able to be trans- 
ported, he will have them loaded into the wagon train of his own corps, 
(even if this should necessitate the destruction of much baggage and regi- 
mental property,) and carried to Manassas Junction. The Major General 
commanding the Army of Virginia feels assured that he will discharge 
with intelligence, courage and fidelity. 

The General Headquarters will be with the corps of Major General 
Heintzelman until further notice. 

By command of — 

Major General Pope. 

(Signed) GEO. D, RUGGLES, 

Colonel and 'Chief of Staff, 

The examination by the accused was liere closed. 



' 116 

Examination resumed by the Judge Advocate : 

Q. Will you look at the paper now submitted to you, [handing paper 
to the witness,] dated " Bristow, 6 a. m., 29th," addressed to Geu. Burn- 
side, and which purports to be a dispatc-h sent by the accused to General 
Burnside, and state if you know anything in regard to its having been 
sent over the telegraphic wires? 

A. [After examining the paper.] I think I read that message. It was 
brought down to the office. 1 cannot say positively that I sent that mes- 
sage over the wires. 

Q. Was it or not in the handwriting of the accused ? 

A. That I do not remember. 

Q. Are you or not certain that it was sent over the wires by any one 
of the operators engaged by the Government ? 

A. I have no recollection of having seen it sent over the wires. 

The paper was handed the accused, who, after examining it, said that 
he had but two dispatches sent by him to Gen. Burnside, which two were 
sent to him by Gen. Burnside not long since, and when the Court desired 
them, he (the accused) would produce them. 

J. L. Cherry was then called by the Government, and sworn and ex- 
amined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. What position did you hold in the public service during the month 
of August last, and where were you engaged ? 

A. I hold the position of telegraphic operator. I was engaged in put- 
ting up a telegraphic line from Falmouth in the direction of Culpepper. 

Q. Look upon the paper I now show you, [handing witness a paper,] 
dated "Bristow, 6 a. m., 29th," addressed to Gen. Burnside, and purport- 
ing to be a copy of a dispatch sent by the accused to Gen. Burnside on 
that day, and state what you know, if anything, in regard to its having 
been sent over the wires ? 

A. [After examining the paper.] I think that dispatch was sent. 

Q. Did you or not see the original? 

A. I think I did. 

Q. Have you any recollection as to whether or not it was in the hand- 
writing of the accused ? 

A. I thought so at the time. 

Q. Have you or not seen enough of General Porter's handwriting to 
enable you to judge of it, and determine whether this was in his hand- 
writing or not ? 

A. Yes, sir, I think I have. 

Q. Have you or not any recollection of the rank or name of the officer 
who bore this dispatch to the office ? 

A. I think it was a private that brought it, an orderly. 

Q. Do you or not think it was sent on the day of its date ? 

A. I cannot say. 

The dispatch was then read, as follows : 



117 



/frj 



"Rec'd 5.30 p. m,, August 29, 1862. 

Falmouth, Va., 5 p. m., 29. 
*' Gen. H. W. Halleck, 

Geneeal-in-Ciiief : 

The following message has jnst been received. 

Bristow, 6 a. m., 29. 
To General Burnside : 

Shall be off in half an hour. The messenger -who brought this says 
the enemy had been at Ceatreville, and pickets were found there last 
night. 

Sigel had severe fight last night — took many prisoners. Banks is at 
Warrenton Junction. McDowell near Gainesville ; Heintzleman and 
Reno at Centreville, where they marched yesterday. Pope went to Cen- 
treville with the last two as a boily-guard, at the time not knowing where 
was the enemy, and where Sigel was fighting within 8 miles of him and in 
sight. Comment is unnecessary. 

The enormous trains are still rolling on, many arrivals not having been 
watched for 50 houis. I shall he out of provisions to-morrow night. 
Your tiain of 40 wagons cannot be found. 

I hope Mc's. at work and we will soon get ordered out of this. It 
would seem, from proper statements of the enemy, that he was wandering 
around loose; but I expect they know what they are doing, which is more 
than any one here or anywhere knows. 

Just received the following order : 

Headquarters Army of Virginia, 

Near Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862. 
Major-General Porter : 

General McDowell has anticipated the retreat of Jackson. Sigel is im- 
mediately on the right of McDowell. Kearney and Hooker march to 
to attack the enemy's rear at early dawn. Major-General Pope directs 
you to move upon Centreville at the first dawn of day with your whole 
command, leaving your trains to follow. It is very important that you 
should be here at a very early hour in the morning. A severe engage- 
ment is likely to take place, and your presence is necessary. 

GEO. D. RUGGLES, 

Colonel and Chief. 

A large body of the enemy reported opposite. — I am preparing, and 
will hold the place until the last. The only fear I have is a force coming 
from Manassas Junction. 

(Signed) A. E. BURNSIDE, 

Major General. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. State, if you have any recollection, whether you pent a message to 
the accused, and if so, when that Gen. Burnside requested that the accus- 
ed should give him any information he had of what was going on ? 



118 

A. Gen. Burnside often asked me whether I had any information from 
the Army of Virginia ; that is, General Pope's army. T wrote a note to 
General Porter, requesting him to send all information he could gain for 
the benefit, of Gen. Burnside. 

Q. Where was General Burnside at that lime ; with hi-' own corps ? 

A. At Falmouth, 

Q. "Where was your telegraph station; near General Burnside ? 

A. I should think 15 or 20 miles from Gen. Burnside's headquarters. 

Q. Will ycu state whether the request of General Burnside, which you 
communicated to the accused by a message, was communicated to the ac- 
cused before the date of the dispatch to which you have just testified ? 

xi. I do not remember. 

Q. Will you state whether you received from the accused, to be trans- 
mitted to Gen. Burnside any message after the message dated " Bristow, 
6 a. m., 29," to which you have testified ? 

A. I am not positive, but I think I did. 

Q. If any, can you tell how many ? 

A. 1 cannot. 

The accused stated that, until Uie purpose was stated for which these 
messages was offered, he must object to them as irrelevant. 

The Judge Advocate said — that he thought the purpose was very ob- 
vious. It was simply to show the animus of the accused towards his. 
commanding general at and about the time the acts of disobedience on the 
part of the accused are alleged to have taken place. The Judge Advo- 
cate thought these despatches would furnish most important ligtit to ena- 
ble the Court to give a true interpretation to the alleged acts of disobedi- 
ence, and also to properly understand their spirit. 

The accused withdrew his objection. 

Examination of the witness resumed by the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you look at the paper I now show you, (handing witness a 
paper) and which purports to be a copy of a dispatch from the accused to 
Major-General Burnside, dated "From Advance, 11.45 p. m.," and state 
what vou know, if anything, in regard to its having been transmitted over 
the wires? 

A. I sent that dispatch, or one so near like it that I cannot tell the 
difference. 

Q. Do you or not remember whether the original was in the hand- 
writing of the accused? 

A. I do not remember. 

Q. Do you recollect the rank or the name of the officer by whom it 
was brought to your office? 

A. I believe it was a private — an orderl3\ I do not recollect his name. 

The dispatch was then read as follows : 

*'U. S. Military Telegraph. 

" Eeceived August 27, 1862, 

'"'■From advance^ 11.45 />. m. 
"To Maj. Gen. Burnside : 

" Have just received orders from General Pope to move Sykes to-mor- 
row to within two miles of Warrenton, and to call up more to same point, 
leaving the fords guarded by the cavalry. He says the troops in rear 



119 

should be brought up as rapidly as possible, leaving onlj' a small rear-guard 
at Rappahaunock Station ; and that he cannot see how a general engage- 
ment can b>' put off more than a day or two. I shall move up as ordered, 
but the want of grain and tlie necessity of receiving a supply of subsis- 
tence will cause some delay. Please hasten back the wagons sent down, 
and inform McCiellan, that I may know that I am doing right. Banks is 
at Fayettsville. McDowell, Sigel, and Ricketts at, and immediately front 
of Warrenton, Reno on his right. Cox joins to-morrow, Sturgis next 
day, atjd Franklin is expected. So says Generril Pope. 

(Signed) " F. J. PORTER, M. Gr 

Q. Will you examine the papers now shown you — (handing witness the 
paper) — and say if you have any recollection of having sent it over the 
wires ? 

A. (After examining the papers.) I remember sending that dispatch 
all but the first sentence, ending with the word "bosh." I have no recol- 
lection of having sent that, although I may have sent it. 

Q. Have you or not, any dicided impression as to whether that sentence 
was in the message as you sent it ? 

A. I have not; I have no recollection of ever sending that sentence. 

Q. The paper was then passed to the accused, who after having read it, 
said that he admitted having sent that dispatch to General Buroside, and 
was satisfied, upon now reading the paper, that the sentence not remem- 
bered by witness was a part of the dispatch he, the accused, had sent. ' 

The dispatch was then read as follows : 

[Received 1 p. m. Cipher.) 

Falmouth, 1 p. m., 

August 29, 1862. 
Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck, 

General-in- Chief. 
Maj. Gen. G. B, McClellen, 
Alexandria. 

The following just received from Porter : 

"Four miles from Manassas, the 28th, 2 p. m. — All that talk about 
bagging Jackson, &c., was bosh, That enormous Gap, Manassas was, left 
open, and the enemy jumped through ; and the story of McDowell havino' 
cut off" Longstreet had no good foundation. The enemy have destroyed 
all our bridges, burnt trains, &c., and made this army rush back to look 
at its line of communication, and find us bare of subsistence. We are far 
from Alexandria, considering the means of transportation. The supply 
train of forty wagons is here, but I can't find them. There is a report 
that Jackson is at Centerville, which you can believe or not. The enemy 
destroyed an immense amount of property at Manassas — cars and supplies. 
I expect the next thing will be a raid on our rear by way of Warrenton, 
by Longstreet, who was cut off. 

(" Signed) "F. J, PORTER, 



This is the latest news. 

(Signed) A. E. BURNSIDE 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 



'^Maj. GeneraV 

TRNSIDE, 
Major General. 



120 

Col. Speed Butler was then called by the Government, and sworn and 
examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate : 

Q. Will you state what position you hold in the militmy service of the 
United States ? 

A. I hold the position of additional aide-de-camp in the United States 
army, with the rank of Colonel. 

Q. What part, if any, did you take in the campaign of the army of 
Virginia, in the month of August last ? 

A. I was connected with tbe head -quarters of General Pope, as an aid^ 
and acted in different capacities during that campaign. 

Q. Where were you during the 30th of Augus't last? 

A, I was at Centerville, in charge of head-quarters there. 

Q. What portion, if any, of the command of the accused, arrived at 
Centerville that day, and at what hour did they arrive ? 

A. Gen. Griffin's brigade, and General Piatt's brigade arrived there that 
day. Gen. Griffin's brigade arrived there about 11 o'clock on the morn- 
ing of the 30th. Gen. Piatt's arrived there some time after that, on the 
same morning. 

Q. Do you or not know from what point those forces had marched that 
morning ? 

A. Gen. Griffin's brigade came from towards Manassas Junction. I did 
not notice what road Gen. Piatt's brigade came up into town. 

Q. Had you or not, any means of knowing from what point they had 
come. I mean the point they had started from that morning? 

A. Only what I heard Griffin say — which was that he had come from 
Manassas Junction. 

Q. Was there or not a battle during that day — the 30th of August — 
between the rebel forces and those of the United States, not far from Cen- 
treville ? 

A. There was. 

Q. Was or was not the sound of the artillery distinctly heard at Cen- 
treville ? 

A. Very distinctly. 

Q. How long did the brigade of Gen. Griffin remain at Centreville ? 

A. I could not state positively ; I know it was there for three or four 
hours. 

Q. Did that brigade or not take any part in the action of that day ? 

A. It did not. 

Q. Do you or not know under what circumstances the forces under the 
command of Gen. Piatt left Centreville after their arrival there on that 
day? 

A. I think the command of Gen. Piatt made no halt at Centreville, but 
maiched directly through the town towards the battle-field. 

Q. Could you state with any certainty the hour at which the force 
under Gen. Piatt left Centreville ? 

A. I cannot; I should suppose it was after 12 o'clock some time. 

Q. Up to what hour did the battle of the 30th of August continue ? 

A. I think some time after 5 o'clock — perhaps 4 o'clock in the evening. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 



121 



/ft- 



The Judge Advocate stated that there were no other witnesses in at- 
tendance, and there might be none for several days ; some of them were 
in active service in the field at this time, and others were at remote points, 
at which they had been telegraphed. 

The Court accordingly adjourned at 11 o'clock a. m. on Thursday next. 



Washington, D. C, 

December I8th, 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter TJ. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier Gen. Ilufus King, " 

" B. M. Prentiss, " 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, " 

" James A. Garfield, " 

" N. B. Buford, " 

" J. P. Slough, " 

and 

Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The accused, with his counsel, was also present. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The joint note addressed to Generals McDowell and King, referred to 
in the testimony of Maj. Gen. Pope, and set out on page 116 of the re- 
cord was admitted by the accused to be the note he sent to Generals Mc- 
Dowell and King, aud the original, on file before the Court, to be in his 
own handwriting. 

Lieut.-Col. Frederick Myers was then called by the Government, and 
sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q, Will you state to the Court in what capacity you served in the array 
of Virginia, under Maj. Gen. Pope, during its late campaign in July and 
August last ? 

A. I was chief quartermaster to Gen. McDowell? 

Q. Where were you on the night of the 27th of August last? 

A. I was with the trains of the army about a mile and a half from 
where Gen. Hooker had his battle on the 27th ? 

Q. Did you or not receive any instructions from Gen, Pope, on that 
day relating to your train along the road from Warrenton Junction to 
Bristow Station ; if so, state what they were ? 

A. I was ordered to move the trains in rear of Gen. Hooker. Just be- 
fore dark Gen. Pope, with his staff, rode up, and I reported to him that 
Gen. Hooker was in action ahead of me, and asked him if I should go 
into park with my trains. He replied that I could do so, or go on as I 
thought best ? 

Q. What did you do ; did you go into park or did you continue on ? 



122 

A. I went into park, and gave directions to all the quartermasters to 
go into park. 

Q. At what hour on the following morning were those trains upon that 
road put in motion ? 

A. The h'-ad of the train commenced moving just at daylight. 

Q. What was the condition of the road between Warrenton Junction 
and Bristow Station at that time, so far as regards the passage of wagons, 
artillery, &c. ? 

A. It was in excellent condition at that time. 

Q. Do you remember the character of that night, the night of the 2*7 th 
of August ? If so, will you please state it ? 

A. I was up nearly all that night. It was quite dark; there was no 
moon. 

Q. Did the night change in its character toward the morning, or was it 
the same throughout ? 

A. It was a dark night; I could not state about it toward morning par- 
ticularly. 

Q. In view of the condition of the road, as you have described it, and 
also the character of the night, was or was not the movement of troops 
along that road practicable that night? 

A. I do not know of anything to hinder troops moving along the rail- 
road there. There was a road running each side of the railroad. I should 
think it would have been easy for troops to move Mlong there, although I 
may be mistaken in that. 

Q. Where were you Saturday the 30th of August, during the battle of 
Manassas, as I believe it is called. 

A. I was at Centreville until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when I 
went to the battle-field. 

Q. Did you or not see any portion of the command of the accused 
during that day ; and if so, where did you see them ? 

A. Right in the rear of where the headquarter trains were, and of the 
southern line of defences there, right on the pike running from Fairfax 
Court-house to Gainesville or W^arrenton, there was a body of troops pass- 
ing around to the left, crossing the road. I rode out to see who they 
were. I met Gen. Piatt, Gen. Sturgis, and I am under the impression' 
that I met some other general. 

Q. Gen. Griffin ? 

A. No, sir. I did not meet him at that time ; I met him shortly after- 
wards. I asked what troops they were, and they told me it was General 
Morell's division. 

Q. Were or were not these troops moving in the direction of Centre- 
ville ? 

A. This was right at Centreville. All the trains were in camp in rear 
of Centreville. ' 

Q. At what time in the day did you see these troops ? 

A. I should think it was about 11 o'clock in the morning. 

Q. Was the sound of the artillery from the battle-field distinct at that 
point ? 

A. Yes sir. 
Q. Did you leave these these troops there when you yourself went 
upon the battle-field ? 

A. No, sir. It was sometime after that I went upon the battle field. 

Q. When you went upon the battle-field, were these troops still where 
you had seen them ? 



123 



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A. Not at that particular place. They had moved off in advance of 
Centreville, where the road forks. A portion of them were there. The 
aitillery w^as there. I supposed they were the same troops, though 1 did 
not go the second time to see them. 

Q. You did not see them match in the direction of the battle-field ? 

A. I saw some of them as I was coining back after dark; I met Gen. 
Griffin. 

Q. Where did you meet him ? 

A. Very near Cuts Run bridge, I should think. 

Q. How far is that from Centreville ? 

A. About two miles from Centrevtlle, on the road leading to the battle- 
field. 

Q. Was the battle then over ? 

A. It was after dark. There was not much firing then. 

Q. What was the distance from Centreville to the battle-field ? 

A. About four or four and a half miles. 

Examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Were your general orders to push forward your wagons as fast as 
possible towards Manassas ? 

A. I was ordered in the first place, by telegraph from Gen. Pope, from 
Warrenton junction to Warrenton, to take the trains to Warrenton junc- 
tion. After I arrived at Warrenton junction, I reported to Gen. Pope, 
and he ordered me to go on to JNlanassas. He stated that Gen. Hooker 
was in the advance, and would act as protection to the trains. 

Q. After being permitted to go into park with your wagons, why did 
you defer starting them until daylight the n-^xt morning? 

A. We generally stop at night, in tiavelling, when we can. The teams 
■were not unharnessed, but were ready to move at a moment's notice. 

Q. They would have continued on, if it had been daylight, I suppose ? 

A. If it had been daylight, and everything clear ahead. 

Q. Then I understand that the state of the night was such, and the con- 
dition of the road was such, that you did not think it proper to start your 
wagons during the night, but waited until daylight? 

A. That was not the reason I stopped. We had come about twenty 
miles that day, and that was about as far as we generally travelled in a 
day. I suppose I would have gone on, if it had not been for the action 
taking place the afternoon before. 

Q. Did all the wagons go into park, or did some continue on the road ? 

A. I think all my train went into park. The wagons were coming in 
all night. I could hear the wagons rolling nearly all night. Two trains 
passed me that night. 

Q. Do you know the fact that the road was clear of wagons in front of 
you and behind you, between Warrenton Junction and Bristow Station 
during that night ? 

^. There were no wagons whatever in front of me. I was with the 
head of the train. There might have been a great many in rear of me 
that I could not tell about. 

Q. You have been understood to say that the wagons were rolling all 
night ? 

A. Y^es, sir ; coming into park as they got along all night. The rear 



124 

wagons take a long time to come up in a long train of 2,000 or 3,000 
wagons, 

Q. Then they were coming into park all night from the road ? 

A. Yes, sir; wherever they would find a place to park, they parked. 

Q. Do you know that there were other wagons coming on behiud your 
train? 

A. I do not know what wagons came on with the army called the 
"Army of the Potomac." I can only speak about those with the "Army 
of Virginia." 

Q. Having spoken of the condition of the railroad, do you know its con- 
dition accurately at that time, from your own observation, between War- 
renten Junction and Bris'ow Station ; what breaks there were, &c. ? 

A. I traveled over it several times in the cars, and on horseback with 
the wagons. Not directly on the road when I was on horseback, but on 
the side of the road ; on the road when in the cars. 

Q. On the 27th ? 

A. I could say as to the day ; I speak of the day when General Hooker 
had his fight near Bristow, whatever day that was. 

Q. In passing over, or near to the railroad, on the 27th of August, did 
you observe any breaks, any obstructions upon it, which would interfere 
with the movement of troops over it ? 

A. They burned the bridges there at Bristow, which was on ahead, and 
I am under the impression that the bridge at Cedar Run was burned ; I 
could not state positively as to that ; but that is my impression. 

Examination by the accused was here closed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. In your judgement, could trains have moved over that road that 
night, if it had been necessary to move them ? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q, Was there any reason connected with the character of the night why 
trains could not move on that road ? 

A. No, sir. , 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

Major S. F. Barston was then called by the Government, and sworn and 
examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Were you or not serving with the corps of Major General McDow- 
ell in the Armv of Virginia, during its late campaign in July and August 
last ? 

A. I was. 

Q. In what capacity ? 

A. As Assistant Adjutant General. 

Q. Have you or not any recollection of the night of the 27th of August, 
being the night after the day on which the battle known as the battle of 
Kettle Run was fought by General Hooker's troops ? 

A. We moved from Warrenton to Buckland Mills, on the afternoon of 
the 27th of August. We reached Buckland Mills about 9 o'clock in the 
evening, I think, or some time after dark? 

Q. What was the character of that night ? 



125 

A. That is more than I can tell ; that is, of the whole night. 

Q. As late as you were up ? 

A. About the time tbat we arrived at Buckland Mills, there was a spit 
of rain ; but it did not last long. 

Q. As compared with other nights of the season, was it more or less 
unfavorable for the movement of troops ? 

A. I should like to add that we started before daylight the next morn- 
ing ; that is, I was out before daylight — we started about daylight. As I 
remember it, I have no vivid recollection of that night beyond other nights. 
It seemed to me to be very much like other nights on which we moved. 

Q. Did you or not experience any difficulty in marching troops that 
night up to the hour at which you encamped ? 

A. No, sir. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 

The Judge Advocate stated that there were no other witnesses on the 
part of the Government present. If those who had been summoned, should 
be present to-morrow, the case on thw part of the Government, so far as he 
knew, he thought might be closed to-morrow. 

The Court thereupdh adjourned to 11 a. m., to-morrow 



Washington, D. C, 

December 19, 1862. 
The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

« E. A. Hitchcock, " 

Brigadier General liufus King, U. S. Volunteers. 
" B. M. Prentiss, 

" James B. Ricketts, 

" Silas Casey, 

" James A. Garfield, 

" N. B. Buford, 

♦ " J. P. Slough, 

and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The accused, with his counsel, was also present. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

There being no witnesses in attendance 

The Court adjourned until 11 a. m. on Monday next. 



126 

Washin^gton, T>. C, 

December 22, 1862. 

The Court met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present : 

Major General D. Hunter U. S. Volunteers. 

" E. A. Hitchcock, 

Brigadier Gen. Rufus King, " 

B. M. Prentiss, « 

" James B. Ricketts, " 

" Silas Casey, 

" James A. Garfield, " 

N. B. Buford, . " 

" J. P. Slough, « 

and 
Col. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General. 

The accused, with his counsel, was also present. 

The minutes of the last session were read and approved. 

The Judge Advocate said he had been unable to secure the attendance 
of a witness by whom he desired to prove the receipt by the accused of 
the order of Gen. Pope, dated 8.50 p. m., August 29, 1862, in accordance 
with which order the accused had reported the next morning. 

The accused admitted the receipt of the order referred to, but stated 
that he should introduce testimony to prove that the order was not deliv- 
eied to him until 3.30 a. m. on the 30th of August. 

Col. Benj. F. Smith was then called by the Government, and sworn 
and examined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. Will you state your position in the military service of the United 
States ? 

A. I am a captain of the Gth regular infantry, and colonel of the 126th 
regiment of Ohio volunteers. 

Q. Will you state to the Court wheter you were serving with any part 
of the army of Virginia, commanded by Maj. Gen, Pope, on the days of 
the 27th, 28th, 29i,h, and 30th of August last ; and, if so, ^n what brigade 
and division ? 

A. 1 was serving in Col. Grossman's brigade of Gen Sykes' division. 

Q. In what direction did that brigade march on Friday, the 29th of 
August last ? 

A. We had marched from Fredericksburg, by way of Warrenton 
Junction, and arrived at Manassas on the 29th of August, the day before 
the battle of Bull Run. We arrived exactly at the place where the rail- 
road had been destroyed — the wreck of the train was there ; and there we 
halted. Late in the day, in the morning, we retraced our steps to the 
branch railroad running, I think, towards Gainesville or Manassas Gap, 
and followed the direction of that road some few miles. We then halted 
on some rising ground, where we could see the Cnuntry beyond — over the 
woods, the tops of the trees. It was a wooded country. While we were 
halted there a brittery of the rebels opened upon us, but fired some three 



/^6 

127 

or four shells only, I ihink — tbere may have been a half a dozen. Our 
brigade then marched into a field, and tbe regiments were placed in order 
of battle. I recollect that Geu. Morell's division was in our advance, on 
the lower ground. Some of our piec^s replied to this rebel battery. I 
received permission from the ctanmandiog officer of my regiment to go to 
a more elevated piece of ground a few rods distant ; and while there I 
saw our batteries reply. 

A short time afterwards, probably a half an hour, we received orders 
to retrace our steps, and march back in the direction we had come ; we 
then marcheu back to near Manassas Junction, and camped in the woods 
along side this branch railroad I have mentioned. That night I was placed 
on duty as the field officer of the picket of Syke's division. About daybreak 
the pickets were called in, and we marched towards the battle field of 
Bull Run, and were engaged in that battle. 

Q. What was the effect of the reply of your guns to this attack of the 
rebel battery? 

A. It seemed to silence that battery, and it withdrew — at least that was 
the impression I had at the time. 

Q. What amount of infantry force, if any, did there seem to be snp- 
portiug this rebel battery ? 

A. 1 did not see them. 

Q. Before you received orders to fall back and retrace your steps along 
this road, had or had not this rebel battery been completely silenced ? 

A. I think it had been. 

Q. Were there, or not, at that ttme clouds of dust in view, showing an 
advance of the enemy? 

A. Clouds of dust were distinctly visible farther over, beyond the trees. 
Whether there were troops advancing, or whether they were moving in 
another direction, I could not tell. I could see distinctly tbe clouds of 
dust, as if there was a large body of troops moving. 

Q. Did you, or not, see the accused. Gen. Porter, at the head of the 
column on that day ? 

A. No, sir ; I do not recollect of seeing Gen. Porter at all that day. 

Q. Did you, or not, see Gen. McDowell tbat day ? 

^1. I saw Gen. McDowell before we arrived at the hill, or rising ground, 
I have spoken of 

Q. Do you, or not, know whether Gen. McDowell had left the command 
before this eng"Bgement with the rebel battery took place ? 

A. I do not recollect about that. 

Q. Will you state at what hour on that evening you arrived at your en- 
camptment near Manassas Junction ? 

A. It was some time in the afternoon, I think ; I do not recollect dis- 
tinctly. 

Q. Was it night-fall ? 

A. No, sir ; it was before night, I went on duty to post my pickets just 
at dark. 

Q. WrS there, or not, any such display of the enemy's forces, as to 
make it necessary, in your judgment, to retreat before them ? 

A. I had no means of knowing. When we moved back from that 
position, I supposed it was for some proper cause ; but I did not understand 
at all what the cause was. I did not receive any impression that we were 
retreating from the enemy . I supposed that we were making a recon- 
noissance to feel the enemy in that direction, and having found him that 



128 

tre had moved back for some other purpose. And not knowing about the 
orders to the General, I remained under that impression. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the accused. 

Do you recollect the road over which you marched the following morn- 
ing, the 30th of August, going up to the battle-field ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was your camp near the junction of that road and the railroad? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was that road near to Manassas Junction ? 

A. I thought it was about a mile or two from the Junction. 

Q. It was not at the Junction ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you recollect Bethlehem church ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. By looking at the map, do you think you could recognize the point 
where you were ? 

A. I might. 

Q. Look at the map before the Court, if you please, and point out the 
place if you can ? 

A. (After looking at the map.) I recollect that where our brigade lay 
the railroad was in view, and also the road we took the next morning. 

Q. According to the m^!asurement upon the map — an inch to the mile 
— how far is that from Manassas Junction ? 

A. It is probably some two miles. 

Q. When you say that the rebel battery was silenced, do you mean, 
that it was iucapacitated, or that it ceased firing and was withdrawn? 

A. I thought it was withdrawn. 

Examination by the accused here closed. 

Examination by the Court. 

Q. At what time, on the 27th of August, did your division arrive at 
Warrenton Junction, and how far had it marched that day ? 

A. I am under the impression that we arrived there about noon ; the 
time of the day is not fixed distinctly on my mind. I do not recollect the 
camp beyond Warrenton which we left; I might recall it by looking at 
the map. (Examining the map.) We marched from some point on this 
road, (indicating on the map the road refered to,) by Bealton, and then 
down the side of the track to Warrenton, 

Q. Was your brigade the leading brigade ? 

A. I do not recollect whether it lead that day or not. 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

Lieut. Edward Brooks was called by the Government, and sworn and 
examined, as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. What is your position in the military service ? 

A. I am a first lieutenant of volunteers in the 6th Wisconsin regiment. 
/ Q. State to the Court, if you please, whether or not you were serving 
with the Army of Virginia on or about the 27th of August last? 
A. 1 was. 



Q. la what place occupied by that array were you on the night of the 
2 Yth of August? 

A. I was at Bristow Station and at Greenwich. 

Q. Do you remember the character of the night; if so, will you state 
whether it was of usual or unusual darkness ? 

A. It was not very dark — not so dark but what I could find my way 
through the wDods. 

Q. Was or was not the night of such a character as to ofi'er any unusual 
difficulties to the march of troops I 

A. It was not. 

Q. What was the general condition of the road from Warrenton Junc- 
tion in the direction of Manassas Junction ? 

A. It was very good. 

Q. Did you have full opportunities of ascertaining the condition of that 
road on the night of the 27th of August ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What opportunities did you have ? 

A. I travelled from beyond Warrenton to Warrenton junction, from 
Warrenton Junction to Bristow Station, and after arriving at Bristow Sta- 
tion, I went across the country to Greenwich. 

Q.. Have you or not frequently passed over that road ? 

A. Very often. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Exatnination by the Accused. 

Q. At what hour did you leave Warrenton Junction! 

A. About half-past four o'clock in the afternoon. 

Q. At what hour did you reach Bristow Station ? 

A. About seven o'clock in the evening, I think. 

Q. At what time did you start from Bristow for Greenwich ? 

A. I started from Bristow about nine o'clock at night, and arrived at 
Greenwich at ten minutes past twelve. 

Q. Did you remain at Greenwich all night ? 

A. I did. 

Q. What did you do at Greenwich ? 

A. I had a dispatch for Gen. Kearney ; and I was ordered by General 
Pope to remain and bring his force through the next morning. 

Q. Did you do anything else. 

A. Merely made the road secure by deploying infantry across the 
country ? 

Q. For what purpose was that done? 

A. There were indications of rebel cavalry. 

Q. Did you travel alone ? 

A. No, sir ; I had an escort. 

Q. Did you go to sleep while you were at Greenwich ? 

A. No, sir ; I laid down once or twice ; but Gen. Kearney called me 
up before I got asleep. 

Q. At what time did you lie down ? 

A. I think it was about 1 o'clock; and I laid about 10 minutes the first 
time. 

Q. Did it rain or sprinkle that night ? 

A. It sprinkled a very little just as I started from. Bristow, if I recollect 
aright. 



130 

Q. That is, early in the evening ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You know nothing of the condition of the road that night between 
Warrenton Junction and Bristow Station, or between Warrenton Junc- 
tion and Kettle Run ? 

A. Only from having passed over it from Warrenton Junction. 

Q. You knew nothing of its blocked condition — whether or not there 
were wagons upon it that night ? 

A. There were wagons upon it while I was passing over it from War- 
renton Junction to Bristow Station ; but they were going into park at the 
time. 

Q. From where were they coming ? 

A. They were coming from the direction of Catlett's Station into War- 
renton. 

Q. Was it moonlight or starlight that night? 

A. It was starlight ; there was no moon. 

The examination of this witness was here closed. 

Capt. W. B. C. DuRYEA, called by the Government, and sworn and ex- 
amined as follows : 

By the Judge Advocate. 

Q. What is your position in the military service ? 

A. I am assistant adjutant general to Gen. Duryea. 

Q. Were were you, and in what position, on the 2'7th of August last? 

A. We were on the march from Warrenton ; and on the night of the 
27th of August we baited I should think some three or four miles this 
side of Warrenton. 

Q. At what hour of the night did you halt ? 

A. About midnight. 

Q. In your march up to that hour did you experience any unusual dif- 
ficulties growing out of the character of the night ? 

A. No, sir. 

The examination by the Judge Advocate here closed. 

Examination by the Accused. 

Q. Was the part of the road over which you passed obstructed by wa- 
gons or otherwise ? 

A. The march was very slow. I should think they halted every 10 or 
15 minutes. It was a very tedious march. 

Q. AVhat caused the slowness of movement and the stoppages ? 

A. It is very hard for me to judge. 

The examination of this witness here closed. 

The Judge Advocate announced that he had no more witnesses to bo 
examined. 

Certified copies of the commissions of Major General John Pope and 
Major General Fitz John Porter, as major generals of volunteers, were 
then submitted in evidence by the Judge Advocate, read, and ordered to 
be filed, marked " Government Exhibit B, Nos. 1 and 2." 

The prosecution here closed. 

The Accused said : I have a few remarks to make to the Court before 
asking for a little time to enable me to enter upon ray defence. I have 



131 



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made every effort possible to see my witnesses, and to get in communica- 
tion with them. I have failed in every instance. I have written to them. 
In some instances my letters have reached them, in others they have failed 
to do so. Their replies to me have reached me in only one instance. One 
of my own aids, whom I sent to the Army of the Potomac, has returned, 
but the letters that he sent to me some six or seven days since have not 
yet arrived. Those letters contain documentary evidence, and informa- 
tion in relation to testimony that I desire to offer before this Court. 

I have also to add that the witnesses I desire to have summoned, with the 
exception, I think, of one or two now in town, have received no intimation 
whatever that they have been summoned. They are chiefly with the 
Army of the Potomac. In consequence of my inability to see my wit- 
nesses, my list is rather a large one ; but I expect to be able to reduce it 
a great deal before the case is closed. The Court must not be surprised, 
however, at the largo number of witnesses I have given the Judge Advo- 
cate. I have done so merely because I have not had an opportunity of 
seeing or communicating with any of them. 

I have not yet been able to conclude my preparations to enter upon my 
defence. I therefore ask of the Court a delay until Wednesday morning 
next. From that time forth I expect to be able to push matters forward. 

The Judge Advocate stated that the Government had issued summonses 
for some of the witnesses desired by the accused. It had, however, exer- 
cised its discretion in regard to others in active service, preferring to delay 
calling them from the field until they were actually needed here. 

JJe would make every eflfort now to have them sent for at once. 

The Court accordingly adjourned to 11 a. m., on Wednesday next- 



